,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,dodd      ,a   
,pedagogical ,story    ,giving his      
,struggle for the      ,,survival ,,of  
,,the ,,fittest    ,tracing      ,,his  
,,chances1 ,,his ,,changes1 ,,and ,,how 
,,he ,,came ,,out4      ,,by            
,,william ,,hawley ,,smith4             
,,mdcccxcvii4            ,happy is the  
man who grinds at the mill2    ,the mill
 turns 'round and he stands there still4
      ,social institutions are made for 
man1    and not man for social          
institutions4      ,the supreme purpose 
of creation    is the development of the
 individual4          ,,the ,,evolution 
,,of ,,dodd4    ,,chapter ,i4    ,there 
was joy in the ,weaver household when   
the child was born1 and when  it had    
been duly announced that it was a boy4  
,the event was the first  of the kind in
 this particular branch of the ,weaver  
family1 and1 as is  always the case1    
there was such rejoicing as does not    
come with the  recurrence of like       
episodes4  ,a man hardly feels sure of  

his manhood  till the magic word father 
is put in the vocative case and applied 
to  him direct1 and the apotheosis of   
woman comes with maternity4    ,there is
 nothing remarkable about all this4  ,it
 is the same the world  around4  ,but it
 is the usual that demands most of our  
time and  attention here below1 whether 
we wish it so or otherwise2 and although
  we are everlastingly running after the
 strange and eccentric in human  nature1
 as well as in all other branches of    
creation1 it is the rule  and not the   
exception that we have to deal with     
during most of our  lives4    ,this     
,weaver family1 father and mother1 were 
much like other young  fathers and      
mothers1 and their child was not unlike 
other first-born  children4  ,his first 
low cry and his struggle for breath were
 just such  as the officiating doctor   
had witnessed a hundred times1 and      
doubtless  his last moan and gasp will  
be such as the attending physician will 
have seen many a time and oft4    ,it is

 not the unusual that this brief tale   
has to deal with4    ,yet1 with all of  
these points held in common with the    
rest of the race1  the hero of the      
adventures herein chronicled had an     
individuality that  was his own1 and    
most thoroughly so4  ,this1 too1 is     
common4  ,most  people have an          
individuality1 if they can only find it6
  ,a good many  men never do find this  
quality in themselves1 having it crushed
 out by  the timid or designing people  
who take charge of their education1 so  
called2 but for all that1 to every man  
is given a being unlike that of  any    
other in all the world1 and it is the   
business of each1 for  himself1 to make 
the most of his own peculiar gift1 and  
for all his  teachers and all systems of
 education to help him in his           
heaven-ordained task4    ,the young     
,weaver1 whose advent has just been     
mentioned1 was an  individual4  ,the    
nurse became conscious of it before he  
was an hour  old1 and the same          

impression has been received by all of  
his  since-acquired acquaintances4  ,he 
was a boy with a way of his own4  ,he   
came into a world where there are crowds
 possessed of the same  characteristics4
  ,it is a marvel1 how1 in such a       
multitude of  differences1 either he or 
the rest of us get along1 even as well  
as we  do4    ,when it came to naming   
the child1 he was called ,dodd4    ,dodd
 was the short for ,doddridge1 and the  
full appellation given to  the youth at 
his christening1 when he was two months 
old1 was ,doddridge  ,watts ,weaver1 a  
name which the officiating clergyman    
pronounced with  great unction1 and in  
the prayer after baptism made mention of
 again1  asking heaven to grant that the
 mantle of both the old worthies whose  
names the child bore might fall upon the
 little body wrapped up in an           
embroidered blanket and held on the     
shoulder of the good woman who  stood   
before the altar4    ,that is not just  
the way the preacher said this1 but it  

is  substantially the idea that he tried
 to convey to the ,lord1 and perhaps  he
 succeeded in doing so better than ,i   
have succeeded in conveying it  to you1 
dear reader2 but then1 he had this      
advantage3 ,the ,lord is  quicker at    
taking a point hinted at than the public
 is6  ,though this  needs to be added3  
that if the ,hearer of ,prayer did catch
 the meaning  that lay around loose     
somewhere in the jumble of the parson's 
petition1  that morning1 ,he did not see
 fit to grant the request1 for no scrap 
of  a rag that ever had graced the backs
 of those dear old hymn-makers  fell1   
either soon or late1 upon the form of   
the boy whose wriggling  little body the
 mother tried to keep in order while the
 parson prayed4    ,the father of this  
bit of humanity was ,parson ,weaver1 a  
man of some  ability1 as was evinced by 
the fact that he joined the church1 got 
married1 went to preaching1 and became a
 father1 as noted1 all within a         
twelve-month4  ,he was shrewd1 and      

generally had sufficient reasons for    
his actions4  ,he even had a purpose in 
naming his first-born4  ,he was  fresh  
to the ministry1 and young4  ,the elders
 of the church were somber  men1 and    
feared that their pastor might be too   
much given to levity4  ,mr4 ,weaver got 
wind of this1 somehow1 and to impress   
upon the pillars  of his church and the 
payers of his salary the fact that he   
was sober1  righteous and godly1 he     
named his first-born out of the hymn    
book4    ,but the boy never liked the   
name4  ,when he began to go to school   
the  other boys used to laugh at him    
when he stood up and told the teacher   
what his name was1 and1 a tease among   
the girls1 who had an old  grandmother  
who used to sit in a corner and read old
 books1 once  nick-named the youth ,rise
 and ,progress4  ,as soon as he could   
write1  he always signed his name ,d4   
,w4 ,weaver1 and insisted that the      
initials  stood for ,daniel ,webster4   
,as already noted1 the child was the    

first born of his parents4  ,he was  not
 the last1 however1 for1 like a faithful
 clergyman of the old  school1 that he  
was1 ,parson ,weaver ultimately had a   
family1 the number  of which could not  
be told by any one significant figure4  
,the children  came into the household  
in quick succession too1 for when ,dodd 
was  four years old he had four brothers
 and sisters1 two pairs of twins  having
 blessed the good parson and his wife   
within the first half  decade of their  
wedded life4  ,these trifling facts may 
seem irrelevant  to this record1 but due
 reflection will doubtless show that    
they are  worthy to be set down as      
pertaining to the case4    ,perhaps     
first children are more apt to be       
individual than those of  later birth4  
,be this as it may1 ,dodd had a much    
more marked  individuality than his     
brothers and sisters4  ,not to attempt  
to trace  the ways of nature too far1 it
 is perhaps true that in a first-born   
child are joined the individualities of 

the young father and mother to  a       
greater extent than in the younger      
members of a family4  ,the untamed      
currents of youthful blood that course  
through the veins of the bride  and     
groom1 and their unmodified natures--all
 of which mellow with  years1--leave    
marks upon their eldest which the       
younger children escape4    ,at any     
rate1 ,dodd was a wayward boy from the  
first1 a typical  preacher's son4  ,he  
was rebellious1 belligerent1 and        
naturally  deceitful4  ,this last trait1
 matched with a vivid imagination1 made 
him  a great liar as soon as he grew old
 enough to use the two faculties at  the
 same time4  ,in this regard1 however1  
he was not so wonderfully  unlike a     
great many other people4  ,he had bursts
 of great generosity2  was brave and    
daring even to foolhardiness2 had       
friends1 and would  stand by them till  
death1 if need be1 when the good impulse
 was on2 or  perhaps betray them in     
their greatest extremity if the opposite

 passion  got control at a critical     
moment4    ,intellectually he was       
bright1 even to keenness2 physically he 
was lazy  and a shirk2 morally his      
status is best represented by the       
algebraic  sign #j-j2 spiritually he was
 at times profoundly reverent and       
aspiring1  or again1 outrageously       
blasphemous1 and reckless almost to     
desperation4    ,this is a partial      
catalogue of the characteristics with   
which ,dodd  was originally endowed4    
,the character that was evolved from    
these1 by  means of the education that  
fell to the lot of this individual1 is  
the  business of these pages4  ,to take 
such timber as is furnished in this     
specimen1 and fashion from it a temple  
of the ,lord1 is a task that  might     
puzzle angels4  ,to make a decent child1
 a boy1 or man out of  ,dodd ,weaver1   
was the thing that worried everybody    
that had anything  to do with him1 and  
may1 some day1 perhaps1 prove too hard a
 task for  that individual himself4     

,yet his case is no uncommon one in many
 of  its phases1 for every day sees     
thousands quite like it in the school   
houses of ,america1 as elsewhere4       
,and the question is1 what are we to do 
about it8    ,not to detail carefully   
all the events pertaining to the home   
life of  ,dodd up to the time he was six
 years old1 it is enough to say that    
after the time he was able to creep1 he 
lived much in the street4  ,he  was     
usually in mischief when not asleep1 and
 his overworn mother and  somewhat      
shiftless and careless father were so   
taken up with the other  children and   
with family and pastoral cares1 that    
,dodd grew up by  himself1 as so many   
children do2 more is the pity4    ,a man
 seldom gets so many calves1 or colts1  
or pigs that he cannot take  good care  
of them1 every one2 but for his own     
children--well1 it need  not be said    
what1 the cases are so frequent that    
everybody knows all  about them4        
,dodd was a youngster for everybody to  

tease4  ,when he first began to  toddle 
along the sidewalk in front of the      
house1 the folks who came  along would  
pull his little cap down over his eyes1 
and then laugh at  him when he got mad  
and cried4  ,all this tended to develop 
him1 and  doubtless the evolution of    
many points in his character took rise  
in  these and similar events4    ,at    
last the morning dawned when ,dodd was  
six years old1 and there was  joy in    
,parson ,weavers household in the fact  
that now one youngster  could be got rid
 of for six hours a day1 and ten months 
in the year1  ,saturdays and ,sundays   
excepted4    ,gentle teacher1 you who   
read these lines1 you know who was to   
take care  of this specimen1 don't you8 
,alas6 alas6 what herds of six-year-old 
babies there are thus to be taken care  
of1 many of them coming from  homes     
where they have never known what care   
meant1 but every one to be  got into    
shape somehow1 by you1 my dear school   
ma'am1 or master1 all  for a handful of 

paltry dollars per month1 while you wait
 to get  married1 or to enter another   
profession4  ,to what base uses do we   
return6    ,so1 on a leaden morning in  
,november1 when the mud was deepest and 
the  first snow was shied through the   
air1 whose sharpness cut like a knife1  
,dodd ,weaver came into the schoolroom  
alone1 his mother being too busy  to go 
with him4  ,he had waded across the     
street where the mud and slush  were    
worse than anywhere else4  ,his boots   
were smeared to their very  tops1 and   
the new book that he started with had a 
black daub the size  of your hand on the
 bright cover4  ,he came late and1      
without a word of  hesitation1 marched  
to the desk1 and remarked to the woman  
in charge3  ,mam said you was to take   
care o' me6          ,,chapter ,,ii4    
,miss ,elvira ,stone was teaching the   
school that year4  ,miss ,stone was     
above the average height of women1 and  
carried her social much higher  than she
 did her physical head1 while there was 

a kind of  nose-in-the-air bearing in   
both cases4  ,she had beautiful1 wavy   
black  hair1 a clear complexion1 black  
eyes1 and narrow1 thin lips1 which were 
always slightly pursed up1 as the       
groundwork or main support of a kind  of
 cast-iron smile that never left her    
face for a moment while she was  awake4 
,her dresses always fitted her          
perfectly1 and her skirts trailed  at   
the proper angle1 but yet there was a   
feeling1 all the time1 that  she had    
been poured into the mould that the     
dressmaker had prepared1  and now that  
she had got hard1 you could strike her  
with a hammer and  not break her up1    
though you could not help thinking that 
it must have  taken a very hot fire ever
 to melt her4    ,she wore glasses1 too4
  ,not spectacles1 but a dainty pair of 
eye  glasses1 set in gold1 that sat     
astride of her nose in a very dignified 
fashion and crowned the everlasting     
smile that was spread out below  them4  
,in fact ,miss ,stone was so superior a 

person that one wondered  how it ever   
happened that she should condescend to  
teach school at all4    ,but this was   
only a general view of the case4        
,when viewed in detail the fact appeared
 that although ,elvira was proud  she   
was also poor6    ,this accounted for   
her being in the schoolroom4    ,but she
 had made the most of herself in her    
profession1 as she had in  other        
directions4  ,her motto was to aim high1
 even if her arrow should  light in the 
mud at last1 and she always shot by that
 rule4  ,when she  decided to be a      
teacher rather than a clerk in a store1 
she began to  look about for the best   
opportunities in the direction of her   
choice4  ,it should be remarked that the
 alternative of store or schoolroom came
  to her only after several unsuccessful
 seasons in society1 in which the       
moulded form1 the wavy hair1 and the    
constant smile had been used to  their  
best possible advantage1 but all in     
vain4  ,the hook on which her  bait was 

hung was so rigid and cold that no      
gudgeon1 even1 ever thought  of biting  
at it2 though the angler thought it a   
clever and tempting bit  to bite at4    
,how apt we all are to be deceived--by  
ourselves4    ,so ,elvira resolved to   
make a school teacher out of herself4   
,being somewhat dull intellectually1 and
 detesting severe study1 she  abjured   
all paths that would lead her to teach  
the higher branches of  learning1 and   
bent her rather spare and somewhat stale
 energies to  fitting herself for       
primary work4  ,this1 too1 in the face  
of the fact  that she naturally despised
 children1 except sweet little girls in 
their best clothes1 with long curls1    
freshly made up1 and hanging like  a    
golden flood over neck and shoulders2 or
 bright little boys1 also  well dressed 
and duly curled1 for about a minute1    
when they came into  the parlor where   
,miss ,stone used to sit with her smile4
  ,for these she  had a fancy merely1 it
 could not be called an affection4      

,miss ,stone  was not affectionate4     
,she went to ,st4 ,louis and associated 
herself with the ,kindergarten of  that 
far-famed city4    ,far be it from this 
record to intimate that this is not a   
good thing to  do1 on occasion4  ,with  
this point ,i have naught to do4  ,but  
history is  history1 and facts must be  
duly recorded2 and the fact is1 ,miss   
,stone  went to ,st4 ,louis1 as before  
stated1 and let out the job of being    
fashioned into a ,kindergarten1 to      
certain persons who dwelt in that  city1
 and whose business it was to do just   
this sort of thing4    ,neither can it  
be here set down what her ultimate      
success might have  been had she        
confined herself to ,kindergarten work  
proper4  ,indeed1 it  is an open        
question how any one ever succeeded in  
this particular way1  or1 in fact1      
whether any one ever did do             
,kindergarten work proper for a  week at
 a time4  ,it is one of the             
peculiarities of this kind1 that it  is 

never met with in all its purity4  ,like
 the old-fashioned  milk-sickness1 you  
can never come to the place where it    
really exists4  ,any one can tell you   
just where you will find it1 but when   
you pursue  it1 and come to the place1  
like the end of the rainbow1 it evades  
you  and goes beyond4    ,but this is   
getting on slowly4  ,miss ,stone got on 
slowly1 too4    ,this was the woman to  
whom ,dodd committed himself1 in the    
words of  the last chapter4  ,the lady  
turned towards the boy and brought the  
full  force of her smile to bear upon   
his luckless head4    ,my dear little   
child1 she said1 go and clean your feet6
    ,this1 vocally4  ,in mental         
reservation she remarked at the same    
time3  ,drat the little villain1 ,i've  
got to take him at last1 for she had    
heard of ,dodd and his exploits before  
she had been in her place a  week4    ,i
 don't haf to1 returned the youth1      
scraping a piece of black loam  off his 
left boot with the toe of his right1 and

 rubbing the sticky  lump into the      
floor4    ,but ,miss ,stone had faith in
 her training4  ,she hastily ran through
 all  the precepts and maxims of        
,froebel1 and also such others as his   
,american followers have added by way of
 perfecting this highly wrought  system1
 but though she thought a great deal    
more rapidly than usual1  she found no  
rules and regulations duly made and     
provided for a case  just like this4    
,for the first time in her life she     
realized that there was one thing in    
this world that even a ,german          
specialist1 backed up by ,st4 ,louis    
philosophy1 had not reached2 neither    
,froebel nor his followers said a  word 
about poking mud off one boot with the  
toe of the other1 nor of  rubbing mud   
into the floor1 nor what to do with a   
saucy little boy who  said defiantly1 ,i
 don't haf to4    ,had she been teaching
 in a large city she might have sent for
 the  principal1 and he might have      
telephoned the superintendent1 who might

  have called a meeting of the ,board to
 consider the case1 and so  overcome the
 dilemma2 but ,circleville had a school 
of only three rooms1  and the principal1
 so called1 heard twenty-two recitations
 a day1 in  his own room1 and had little
 time for anything else4  ,so there was 
no  help from that quarter1 and for the 
time ,miss ,stone was dumb4    ,there is
 a tradition that her smile left her for
 a moment1 but the fact  is not well    
authenticated and should not be too     
freely believed4    ,how long this      
teacher would have remained in her      
unfortunate condition  it is impossible 
to tell1 for just at this instant       
,esther ,tracy1 a  motherly little soul1
 aged seven1 who had been               
conscientiously trying  for half an hour
 to see in how many different ways she  
could arrange  four wooden tooth-picks  
upon the desk1 according to a modified  
form of  ,froebel's canons1 as          
interpreted by ,miss ,stone1 took the   
ends of her  fingers out from between   

her lips1 where she had thrust them     
during the  moment of her doubt1 and    
raising her hand1 said3    ,please1     
,miss ,stone1 let me take ',dodd' and   
,i'll take care of him4    ,without     
waiting for a reply1 she came forward1  
took the boy by the hand  and led him   
out of the room4    ,o1 ,nature1        
,nature6  ,how inexorable art thou6  ,as
 people are born1 so  are they always1  
and what do all our strivings to change 
thy decrees  amount to8  ,esther ,tracy1
 aged seven1 who had never heard of a   
,theory  and ,art of ,teaching1 and who 
scarce knew her letters2 indeed1 has put
  to shame ,miss ,elvira ,stone1 the    
handmade disciple of ,froebel and the   
,st4 ,louis ,kindergarten system6  ,she 
knew what to do with ,dodd1 and  ,miss  
,stone didn't4  ,this was the success of
 one1 the failure of the  other4  ,the  
principle obtains always4               
,,chapter ,,iii4    ,it was fully       
fifteen minutes before ,esther and ,dodd
 returned to the  schoolroom4  ,it takes

 a large reserve force of both patience 
and  scraping to make presentable such a
 specimen as ,dodd was on this          
memorable morning4  ,but when the two   
appeared again1 the boy's boots  were   
clean1 and his hair was smoothed down1  
while the book cover showed  only a wet 
spot1 of deeper tint than the rest of   
the book1 in place of  the black blot   
that had been so prominent a few minutes
 before4  ,the  girl led the boy to a   
seat not far from hers and then returned
 to her  own little desk4    ,while the 
children were out ,miss ,stone had time 
to collect her  thoughts1 and she began 
at once to consider what she should do  
to amuse  the child4  ,it had been a    
primary principle with those who        
constructed  this female educator1 that 
the chief end of a primary teacher was  
to  amuse the children placed under her 
charge4    ,this precept had been       
drilled into ,miss ,stone1 and nothing  
less than a  charge of dynamite could   
have dislodged it4    ,she was taught   

that it was little less than wicked to  
impose tasks upon  young shoulders2 that
 the pretty little birdies 7this always 
said  with a smile7 enjoyed themselves1 
hopping about in ,god's blessed         
sunlight1 and that it was ,nature's way 
to have her children happy4             
,happiness1 in this case1 seemed to mean
 doing nothing1 but simply  being       
amused--a definition that finds general 
recognition among many1  there being    
those who dream of heaven as a place    
where they can be as  everlastingly lazy
 as they choose1 through all eternity1  
with the  celestial choirs forever      
tooting soft music in the distance1 and 
streams of milk and honey flowing       
perpetually to their lips1 all for      
their amusement and delectation4        
,perhaps this last is the correct  idea4
  ,it might as well be confessed that on
 this point we are not well  posted in  
this world1 though many profess to be4  
,the ,father will show  us this some    
day1 as he will all else1 but till then 

we can wait4    ,but1 be the employment 
or enjoyment of heaven what it may1 it  
is  evident that in this world a man or 
a child has something to do besides     
being amused4  ,we are all born destined
 for work1 rich and poor alike4  ,it is 
our reasonable service1 and the best    
thing we can do is to fit  ourselves for
 the task1 from the very first4  ,not   
that our work shall  be mere drudgery1  
though it may be that and nothing more1 
and1 even so1  be better than idleness  
or being amused2 but it is the fate of  
every  soul born on earth to be called  
upon constantly to do things which it   
had rather not do1 just then1 anyhow1   
and whenever such a condition  exists1  
work is the word that describes what has
 to be done4  ,it is the  business of   
life to work4  ,the ,book has it that1  
,the ,father worketh  hitherto4  ,even  
the new version has failed to reveal the
 phrase1 ,the  ,father is amused1 and   
the ,master1 when a boy1 declared that  
he must  attend to the business that lay

 waiting for him4    ,but the pedagogic 
preceptors of ,miss ,stone did not draw 
their system of  education from so old a
 book as the one just referred to4  ,it 
is  perhaps true1 also1 that ,german    
philosophy was evolved merely that      
people might be amused by it6           
,quietly she glided down the aisle1 her 
dress rustling along the seats1  and an 
odor of new mown hay exhaling from her  
clothing4  ,dodd hung  his head as she  
approached--perhaps it was to dodge her 
smile--and  waited developments4        
,what is your name1 my dear8 came from  
between the pursed-up lips4             
,doddridge ,watts ,weaver1 said the boy1
 in a loud tone4    ,there was a titter 
all over the room4  ,the name was very  
odd1 and an  oddity is always to be     
laughed at by the average person1 boy or
 man4  ,did you ever think of that1 my  
dear pedagogue2 you who would fain amuse
  children1 and yet will spit them upon 
the spear of public ridicule by  asking 
them to tell their names out loud in    

public1 before all the rest  of the boys
 and girls8  ,it is doubtful if any one 
ever likes to tell  his name in public4 
,i have known old lawyers to blush when 
put upon  the witness stand and obliged 
to tell their names to the court and    
jury1 all of whom had known them for the
 last fifty years6  ,if such is  the    
effect on a dry old stump of a lawyer1  
what must the effect be on a  green1    
sensitive child8    ,dodd heard the     
titter and it made him mad4  ,he was not
 to blame for  the name1 and he felt    
that it was mean for the folks to laugh 
at him  for what he couldn't help4  ,he 
cast an angry glance out of the corner  
of his eyes1 as if to say he would be   
even for this some day1 and then  hung  
his head again4    ,that's a very pretty
 name1 said ,miss ,stone1 thinking by   
this thin  compliment to amuse the boy4 
,tain't nuther6 returned the youth4     
,miss ,stone ventured no further in that
 line4    ,i am glad you have come to   
school1 and ,i hope you will be a very  

nice  little boy1 because we all love   
nice little boys1 replied ,miss ,stone4 
,dodd glanced across the aisle to where 
sat a curled darling and  wished be     
could pull his hair till he howled4     
,now here is something that will amuse  
you a little while1 ,i am sure1  pursued
 ,miss ,stone1 and she laid a handful of
 beans upon the desk4    ,the boy       
glanced up and giggled just a           
little--such a knowing giggle1  too1 as 
much as to say3 ,what do you take me    
for8  ,here's a go6  ,come  to school to
 be amused with beans6    ,miss ,stone  
caught the glance1 and in her inmost    
soul knew all it meant1  and realized   
its full force2 but she checked the     
truth that she felt  within her and     
proceeded by the card4  ,and why not8   
,was she not acting  in accordance with 
the rules and regulations laid down by  
those who had  fashioned her for this   
very work1 and were not these same      
warranted to  keep in any climate1 and  
not to be affected by dampness or dry   

weather8  ,she had put her faith in a   
system and had paid for what she        
received2  and she didn't propose to be 
beaten out of her possession by any     
little  white-headed son of a ,methodist
 preacher1 in a town of a thousand      
inhabitants4    ,she showed ,dodd how to
 divide the handful of beans into little
  bunches of three each1 and how to lay 
each pile by itself along the top  of   
the desk1 and then left him to be amused
 according to the rule in  such cases   
made and provided4    ,now it is        
admitted1 right here1 that beans are not
 a strictly  ,kindergarten property--to 
bring a stage term into the             
schoolroom--but  one seldom sees genuine
 ,kindergarten properties1 or hardly    
ever1 even  in ,st4 ,louis1 and beans   
are so commonly used as above stated1   
that it  can hardly be the fault of the 
harmless vegetable that ,miss ,stone's  
plan did not succeed exactly as she     
wished it to4  ,the fact is1 ,dodd  knew
 how to count before he went to school1 

and could even add and  subtract fairly1
 as was shown by his doing errands at   
the store for his  mother and counting  
the change which he brought back to her4
  ,the bean  business was therefore mere
 nonsense to him4  ,he turned up his    
nose at  the inoffensive kidney-shaped  
pellets before him1 and his reverence   
for  the dignity of the schoolroom and  
his faith in ,miss ,stone fell several  
degrees in a few minutes4    ,perhaps it
 would not have been so in ,boston4  ,in
 that city1 ,i am told1  the bean is    
held in such reverence by all grown-up  
people that one  might well expect to   
see the quality descend to all children1
 as a  natural inheritance4  ,but       
,circleville is not ,boston1 and there  
are  thousands of other towns in these  
,united ,states that are like           
,circleville in this respect4           
,however1 ,dodd sat idly moving the     
beans about for some time4  ,he was     
quiet1 and gradually ,miss ,stone forgot
 him in the press of other  thoughts4   

,to be plain1 she had recently joined an
 ,art ,club1 an  organization composed  
of a few ladies in the little village1  
women  whose husbands were well-to-do1  
and who1 being childless1 were restless 
and anxious to become developed4  ,miss 
,stone was a member of this  club1 and  
in a few days she was to read a paper on
 ,giunta ,pisano1 and  his probable     
relation to ,cimabue1 and the subject   
was working her  mightily1 for she was  
anxious to have her production longer   
than ,miss  ,blossom's1 read at the last
 meet1 and to secure this was no small  
task4  ,she had been to the up-stairs   
room during recess and brought down the 
cyclopedia1 and1 happily1 had found a   
page and a half regarding ,giunta       
,pisano therein1 which she was copying  
verbatim4  ,to be sure1 there was  no   
word in it about ,cimabue1 or the       
relation of the one to the other1  but  
this was not taken into account4  ,there
 were plenty of words in the  article1  
and that was the chief end just then4   

,so ,miss ,stone was soon busy with her 
pen1 the index finger of her left  hand 
noting the line in the cyclopedia which 
should be next  transcribed4  ,the      
children whispered and played a good    
deal1 but she  paid little heed4  ,there
 was little danger of visitors1 for no  
one  visited schools in ,circleville    
7how like all other towns it is in this 
respect67 and ,miss ,stone knew how to  
hustle classes through recitations  and 
make time on a down grade just before   
dinner1 and so took her time  at her    
task of writing up poor old ,giunta4    
,she was presently conscious1 however1  
that something unusual was going  on1   
and on looking up1 found the eyes of the
 pupils fastened on ,dodd4  ,she ran    
down to his desk1 hoping to find the    
beans in order4  ,but alas  for human   
expectations6  ,we are all so often     
doomed to disappointment6  ,not a bean  
was to be seen1 and ,dodd hung his head4
    ,miss ,stone reached for his hands1 
thinking he was hiding them there2  but 

his hands were empty4  ,she tried his   
pockets4  ,they yielded ample  returns  
of such things as boys' pockets are wont
 to contain1 but no  beans appeared4    
,miss ,stone was alarmed1 and she almost
 trembled as she asked3    ',dodd1'     
where are the beans8    ,the boy did not
 look up1 but with a kind of suppressed 
chuckle1 he  muttered1 ,i've eat 'em all
 up6          ,,chapter ,,iv4    ,for   
some cause or other ,miss ,stone and    
,dodd did not get on well  together as  
their acquaintance progressed4  ,the boy
 was impulsive1  saucy1 rude1 and       
generally outrageous1 in more ways than 
can be told or  even dreamed of by any  
one but a primary teacher who has become
  familiar with the species4    ,miss   
,stone had no natural tact as a teacher1
 no gift of ,god in this  direction1 no 
intuition1 which is worth more than all 
precepts and  maxims combined4  ,she    
knew how to work by rule1 as so many    
teachers do1  but beyond this she had   
little ability4  ,this to her credit1   

however3  she did1 ultimately1 labor    
hard with the boy1 and tried her best to
 do  something with him1 or for him1 or 
by him1 but all to little purpose4      
,it seemed to be ,dodd's special mission
 to knock in the head the pet  theories 
of this hand-made school-ma'am4  ,she   
had him up to read on the  afternoon of 
the first day of his attendance at      
school4  ,being but six  years of age1  
and having just entered school1 it was  
proper1 according  to the regulations1  
that he should enter the ,chart ,class4 
,so to the  ,chart ,class he went4      
,the word for the class that day was    
girl1 and the lesson proceeded  after   
the usual manner of those who hold to   
this method of teaching  children to    
read4    ,a little girl was placed upon 
the platform 7the prettiest little girl 
in the class1 to be sure71 and the      
pupils were asked to tell what they     
saw4  ,they all answered in concert1 a  
girl2 and it is to be hoped  that this  
answer1 thus given1 was duly evolved    

from their inner  consciousness by a    
method fully in harmony with the        
principles of  thought-development1 as  
laid down in the books1 and by ,miss    
,stone's  preceptors4  ,a picture girl  
was then displayed upon a card-board    
which  hung against the wall4  ,there   
were many of these card-boards in the   
room1 all made by a book-concern that   
had some faith and a good deal of  money
 invested in this particular way of     
teaching reading--all of  which1 ,i am  
sure1 is well enough1 but the fact1     
probably1 ought to be  mentioned just   
here1 as it is4    ,the pupils were     
asked if the girl on the platform was   
the same as the  one on the card-board1 
and there was a unanimous opinion that  
they were  not identical4  ,the analysis
 of differences was not pursued to any  
great length1 but enough questions were 
asked the children1 by ,miss  ,stone1 to
 develop in them the thought that       
structurally and  functionally the two  
objects1 designated by the common term1 

were not  the same6  ,when this         
diagnosis had been thoroughly mastered  
by the  children1 a third member was    
added for their serious consideration1  
,miss ,stone having duly explained to   
the class that there is still  another  
way to make us think girl4    ,you know1
 she said1 we always think girl when we 
see ',lollie'--the  little girl on the  
platform--and we always think girl when 
we see the  picture2 but now you all    
watch me1 and ,i will show you one other
 way in  which we may always be made to 
think girl4    ,then1 with much flourish
 of chalk1 ,miss ,stone printed ,,girl  
upon the  board1 and proceeded to       
elucidate1 as follows3    ,now1 this    
that ,i have written upon the board is  
not ',lollie1' for she  is on the       
platform yet2 nor is it the picture1 for
 that is on the  card-board1 but it is  
the word 'girl1' and whenever ,i see it1
 it makes  me think girl4  ,now1        
',lollie' is the real girl1 on the      
card-board is  the picture girl1 and on 

the blackboard is the word girl4  ,now1 
who  thinks he can take the pointer and 
point to the kind of girl ,i ask for8   
,several little hands went up1 but      
,dodd's was not among them4  ,miss      
,stone noticed this and was riled a     
little1 for she had tried doubly  hard  
to do well1 just because this tow-head  
was in the class1 and now  to have the  
little scamp repudiate it all was too   
bad4    ,she called on one and another  
of the children to point1 now to the    
real  girl1 now to the picture girl1 now
 to the word girl1 and all went very    
nicely1 till finally she asked ,dodd to 
take the pointer and see what  he could 
do4  ,but the boy made no motion to     
obey4  ,gently she urged him  to try1   
but he hung his head and would not      
budge4    ,why don't you want to try1   
',dodd8' asked the lady1 bending down   
over  the child4    ,o fatal question6  
,quick as thought the lad replied1 as he
 raised his  head3    ,coz1 ,i've knowed
 that always6    ,it is not the         

intention of this chronicle to pass     
judgment upon any  system of teaching   
children to read4  ,this record does not
 concern  itself with one system nor    
another4  ,but in the evolution of      
,dodd1  ,miss ,stone used the           
word-method of the charts1 as before    
stated1 and  using it just as she did1  
she failed to reach the boy as she hoped
 to1  and her failure was very          
unfortunate for the child4  ,she was    
aware of  this1 but she had not strength
 enough1 in her own right1 to change the
  result4    ,so it was that day after  
day went by1 and the antagonism between 
teacher and pupil grew4    ,the boy     
presently discovered that he could annoy
 ,miss ,stone mightily1  and he lost no 
opportunity to do what he could in this 
direction4  ,it  was contrary to the    
creed taught this good woman to inflict 
corporal  punishment upon any child1 and
 though ,dodd aggravated her almost to  
desperation1 and was malicious in his   
persecutions1 yet she kept her  hands   

off him4  ,once or twice she tried some 
slight punishment1 such as  making him  
sit on the platform at her feet1 or     
stand with his face in  the corner1 but 
these light afflictions the boy counted 
as joyous  rather than grievous1 and did
 as he chose more than ever4  ,he slyly 
unfastened one of ,miss ,stone's        
shoestrings one day1 when seated at her 
feet for penalty1 and laughed when she  
tripped in it as she got up2 and        
somehow or other1 he would always put   
the whole room in a turmoil  whenever   
placed with his face to the wall4       
,dodd learned to read quite rapidly1    
however1 having mastered his  letters   
before he went to school1 and having    
spelled a good many words  on signs and 
in newspapers4  ,before the end of the  
third week he had  read his first reader
 through1 one way or another1 though he 
was still  in the ,chart ,class1 and    
having once been through the book1 it   
lost  many1 if not most1 of its charms  
for him thereafter4    ,but if his      

reader was so soon crippled for him1    
what shall be said of  the work of the  
,chart ,class1 over which he went again 
and again1 always  in substantially the 
same way8    ,it may be said1 and       
truthfully1 that there were some pupils 
in the  class who1 even after going over
 and over the same lesson1 for days and 
days1 still did not master it1 and so   
the class was not ready to move  on2 but
 it does not follow that therefore ,dodd
 was not ready to move  on4  ,this did  
follow1 however1 according to ,miss     
,stone's teaching1 and  according to the
 system adopted by multitudes of        
teachers ,east1 ,west1  ,north1 and     
,south4    ,i am well aware that there  
are teachers1 plenty of them1 whose     
spirits  will rebel against the above   
insinuation1 so1 a word with you1 ladies
  and gentlemen4    ,the system used by 
,miss ,stone may have worked well enough
 in some other  hands1 but it should be 
remembered that it is not a system that 
can  educate our children4  ,nor is it a

 system--any set of rules and           
formularies--that can make our schools1 
any more than it is forms and           
ceremonies that make our churches4      
,these may all be well enough in  their 
proper places1 but there is nothing1    
absolutely nothing1 in them1  per se4   
,it is the righteousness of the ,scribes
 and ,pharisees in the  one case1 and   
the dry bones of pedagogy in the other1 
,the evil arises1 in the schools as in  
the churches1 from believing and  acting
 as if there were something in the      
system itself4    ,if human nature were 
a fixed quantity1 if any two children   
were alike1  or anywhere nearly alike1  
if a certain act done for a child always
  brought forth the same result1 then it
 might be possible to form an  absolute 
system of pedagogy1 as1 with fixed      
elements1 there is formed  the science  
of chemistry4  ,but the quick atoms of  
spirit that manifest  their affinities  
under the eye of that alchemist1 the    
teacher1 are far  more subtle than the  

elements that go into the crucible in   
any other of  ,nature's laboratories4   
,a chemist will distill for you the odor
 of a blown rose1 or catch and  hold    
captive the breath of the morning       
meadow1 and do it always just  the same1
 and ever with like results4  ,but there
 is no art by which  anything analogous 
can be wrought in human life4  ,here a  
new element  comes in that entirely     
changes the economy of nature in this   
regard4  ,the individuality of every    
human soul is this new factor1 and      
because  of it1 of its infinite         
variability--because no two atoms that  
are cast  into the crucible of life are 
ever the same1 or can be wrought into   
character by the same means--because of 
this1 no fixed rules can ever  be laid  
down for evolving a definite result1 in 
the realm of soul1 by  never-varying    
means4    ,and this is where ,miss      
,stone was at fault4  ,she had put her  
faith in a  system1 a mill through which
 all children should be run1 and in     

passing  through which each child should
 receive the same treatment1 and from   
which they should all emerge1 stamped   
with the seal of the institution1       
uniformity4    ,this was the prime idea 
that lay at the foundation of ,miss     
,stone's  system of training--to make   
children uniform4  ,this very thing that
 ,god  and ,nature have set themselves  
against--no two faces1 or forms1 or     
statures2 no two minds1 or hearts1 or   
souls being alike1 as designed by  the  
,creator1 and as fashioned by ,nature's 
hand--to make all these alike  was the  
aim of the system under which ,dodd     
began to be evolved1 and  with which he 
began to clash at once4    ,the boy was 
much brighter than most of the class in 
which he was  placed4  ,the peculiarity 
of his own nature1 and his surroundings 
before  entering school1 made him a     
subject for some special notice1        
something  more than the regular thing  
prescribed by the rules4  ,yet this he  
did  not get1 and by so much as he did  

not1 by so much he failed to receive    
his proper due at this period of his    
life4    ,and this is a fault in any    
system1 or in any teacher who works     
exclusively by any card other than his  
or her own good sense1 as  applied to   
each individual case4    ,it was not so 
much the means that ,miss ,stone tried  
upon ,dodd that  were at fault1 as it   
was the way in which she applied them   
and the end  she strove to reach by     
their use4  ,and for you1 my dear1 who  
are  walking over the same road as the  
one just reported as traversed by  ,miss
 ,stone1 look the way over and see how  
it is with you in these  matters4  ,and 
do not content yourself1 either1 by     
merely saying1 ,but  what are we going  
to do about it8  ,bless your dear life1 
that is the  very thing that is set for 
you to find out1 and as you hope for    
success  here and a reward hereafter1   
don't give up till you have answered the
  question4    ,neither can any one but 
yourself answer this question4  ,the    

experience  of others may be of some    
help to you1 but the problem--and you   
have a  new problem every time you have 
a new pupil--is only to be solved by    
yourself4  ,look over the history of the
 ,chart ,class1 over whose silly        
mumblings this boy was dragged till     
disgust took the place of  expectancy1  
then think of like cases that you have  
known1 and ask  yourself what you are   
going to do about it4    ,it is true    
that classes are large1 that rooms are  
full1 that some  pupils are severely    
dull1 and that it is a very hard thing  
to know what  it is best to do2 but     
these things1 all of them1 do not excuse
 you from  doing your best1 and from    
making that best1 in large measure1 meet
 the  absolute needs of the child4  ,hic
 labor1 hoc opus est4    ,and for you1  
who send your six-year-olds to school   
with a single book1  and grumble because
 you have to buy even so much of an     
outfit1 what are  you going to do about 
it when your boy drains all the life out

 of the  little volume1 in a couple of  
weeks or a month8  ,he knows the stories
  by heart1 and after that says them    
over1 day by day1 because he must1  and 
not in the least because he cares to4   
,what are you going to do about this8   
,it is largely your business4  ,you     
cannot shirk it and say that you send   
the boy to school1 and it is the        
teacher's business to take care of him4 
,that will not answer the  question4    
,look the facts in the face1 and then do
 as well by your boy  as you do by your 
hogs6  ,when they get cloyed on corn1   
then you change  their feed1 and so keep
 them growing1 even if it does cost     
twice as  much to make the change2 and  
yet1 the chances are that when your boy 
is  tired to death of the old1 old      
stories in his reader1 tales worn       
threadbare1 as they are drawled over and
 over in his hearing by the  dullards of
 his class1 till his soul is sick of    
them1 even then you  force him to go    
again and again over the hated pages1   

till he will  resort to rank rebellion  
to be rid of them6    ,and what are you 
going to do about it8    ,miss ,stone   
knew none of these things4  ,they were  
of little interest to  her1 and she     
bothered her head but little about them4
  ,but they were of  interest to ,dodd  
,weaver4  ,in the evolution of this     
young hopeful they  played an important 
part4  ,they were hindrances to the boy 
at the very  outset of his course in the
 public schools4  ,they begot in him    
habits  and dislikes which it took years
 to efface1 and from which it is        
doubtful if he ever did fully recover4  
,there are multitudes in like  case1 and
 what are we going to do about it8      
,,chapter ,v4    ,the severity of the   
duties1 pastoral and paternal1 that fell
 to the lot  of ,elder ,weaver1 wore    
rapidly upon the constitution of that   
worthy  gentleman1 and when ,dodd was   
nine years old his father found it      
necessary to retire from the pulpit1 for
 a year at least1 and1 as is  usual in  

such cases1 he went to that refuge for  
fagged out ministers of  all            
denominations1 the old homestead of his 
wife's parents4    ,from this rustic    
domicile he had led the youngest        
daughter1 a buxom  bride1 ten years     
before2 to it he now returned with her  
and with seven  small children besides4 
,an ambitious young man and a healthy   
young  woman1 a decade before1 they came
 back to the threshold from which they  
had gone out1 he1 broken in spirit and  
as poor in purse as in purpose2  she1   
worn and faded1 yet trying hard to seem 
cheerful as she came  within the        
sunlight of the old home again4    ,the 
old people lengthened the cords and     
strengthened the stakes of  their simple
 home1 and made the ,elder and his wife1
 and the seven  children 7seven devils1 
an irreverent sister once called them in
 a  burst of indignation at the state of
 affairs7 as comfortable as  possible4  
,to be sure grandpa and grandma         
,stebbins were old1 and it was  long    

since there had been children in the    
house1 but they had enough  and to spare
 in crib and pantry1 and they had lived 
sufficiently long  in this world to     
accept the inevitable without a murmur4 
,but for all of that1 the children were 
a source of a good deal of  annoyance to
 the old people1 especially until they  
were brought  somewhat under subjection 
by the faithful hand of the old         
gentleman1  who found that he should    
have to stand up for his own in the     
premises  or submit to the unendurable4 
,the first real climax occurred on the  
second day of the quartering of  the    
family thus1 and ,dodd was the boy who  
brought matters to a focus4    ,the     
month was ,october1 and down in the     
yard1 a few feet from the  bee-hives1   
just beyond the shadow of the           
weeping-willow that stood near  the     
well1 and along the row of gooseberry   
bushes under which the hens  were wont  
to gather and gossip--standing on one   
leg and making their  toilets           

meanwhile--there stood a barrel1 out of 
whose bung-hole  protruded a black      
bottle turned bottom side up4  ,the     
barrel was filled  with the best cider  
made that season1 a special run from    
apples that  had been sorted out1 and   
from which every worm-hole and specked  
place  had been cut by the thrifty hand 
of ,grandma ,stebbins4  ,this was for   
the  family vinegar for the year1 and   
the cask was thus left in the sun duly  
to ripen its contents4    ,dodd had not 
been in the yard five minutes before his
 quick eye  caught sight of this1 and   
his eager imagination transformed it    
into a  horse in a twinkling4  ,he did  
this the more easily1 too1 because it   
was  raised from the ground a foot or   
more1 being supported by blocks of  wood
 which in the mind's eye of the boy did 
well enough for legs1 while  a spicket1 
protruding from one end1 below1 made a  
head for the animal1  which1 though     
small1 was available for bridling       
purposes4    ,it was the work of but a  

minute to jerk a string from his pocket1
  bridle the beast1 and mount him for a 
ride4    ,dodd had but fairly started on
 this escapade1 however1 when his       
grandfather appeared in the yard and at 
once saw the danger that  threatened his
 carefully garnered cider4  ,he quietly 
approached his  little grandson1 and1   
telling him that he could not permit him
 to play  with the barrel1 began gently 
to lift him to the ground4    ,but      
against this the boy rebelled4  ,he     
clutched his little legs about  the cask
 and held to his seat with all his      
might1 and when at last he  was forced  
to yield1 he took the black bottle with 
him as a trophy4    ,his grandfather set
 him down and explained to him how the  
cider was  turning to vinegar2 that if  
it was jarred it would spoil it1 and how
  the black bottle drew the sun4    ,but
 ,dodd heard little of all this1 and    
cared less1 even1 for what he  did hear4
  ,he was used to having his own way4   
,he wriggled and squirmed  during the   

explanation1 and as soon as he was      
released1 he made  straight for his     
coveted seat again1 even in the very    
face of the old  gentleman1 and when his
 grandfather caught him once more and   
led him  away somewhat rapidly1 he      
kicked the shins of his captor in a very
  malicious and wicked fashion1 and     
yelled lustily the while4  ,the old  man
 took the boy to his mother and         
explained matters1 assuring ,dodd  and  
the other children1 who stood about in a
 ring1 that they must in no  case touch 
the cask in question1 and then left the 
room4    ,mrs4 ,weaver scolded her      
first-born roundly1 told him he was a   
very  naughty boy1 and ended by taking  
from behind the clock a small and       
brittle switch--an auxiliary that she   
had made haste to provide herself  with 
before she had been on the premises an  
hour1 and without which she  felt that  
her family government would be but      
sounding brass and a  tinkling          
cymbal--and striking ,dodd one or two   

slight strokes over his  hips4    ,this 
was ,mrs4 ,weaver's way of training her 
children4  ,from ,dodd's  earliest      
infancy he had been used to this sort of
 thing4  ,his mother  believed in the   
maxim1 spare the rod and spoil the      
child1 and this  was her method of      
endeavoring to fulfill both the spirit  
and the letter  of the precept4  ,there 
was always a small1 brittle switch      
behind the  clock1 and it was taken down
 numberless times each day1 only to make
 a  child bawl for a minute1 as he was  
threatened or struck lightly with  the  
harmless stick4    ,the usual result was
 that he went ahead and did the very    
thing he was  forbidden to do4    ,dodd 
yelled lustily while his mother laid on1
 though in truth he  scarcely felt the  
blows1 and then sulked for the rest of  
the day1  teasing the other children and
 making life a burden to everybody and  
everything he came near4    ,it was the 
next day1 about two o'clock1 that the   
boy once more got into  the yard and    

made straight for his coveted seat4     
,the fact is he had  never given up his 
purpose to return at the first          
opportunity4    ,he fastened the bridle 
to the spigot and mounted in hot haste1 
kicking  his little heels into the      
bleached staves1 and plying the riding  
whip  like a young fury4  ,the horse    
acted badly 7,dodd's horses always acted
  badly71 and he jerked smartly on the  
bridle rein to subdue him4  ,it was     
rare sport1 and the lad fairly reveled  
in it1 in his little heart  defying     
those who had forbidden him this        
pleasure1 and glorying in his  triumph4 
,but the way of sinners is as darkness1 
they know not at what they  stumble1 and
 ,dodd was destined to take a header    
forthwith4  ,the  jerks on the reins    
drew the spigot from its place1 and the 
first he  knew it was dangling in the   
air over the end of the barrel4  ,he    
leaned  over1 fully to observe this     
fact1 and saw the cider shooting out in 
an  amber stream and flooding all the   

ground4    ,hurray1 he yelled1 that's a 
bully waterfall6 and he thrust his whip 
into the stream to see it spatter1      
hopping about meantime4    ,it was just 
at this instant that grandfather        
,stebbins came out of the  barn1 and1   
hearing the shout of the boy1 looked    
over that way and took  in the          
situation4  ,he was over seventy1 but he
 covered the ground from  barn to barrel
 in most excellent time4    ,hi6 hi6 he 
shouted as he ran4  ,stop it up6  ,stop 
it up6    ,dodd saw the old man coming1 
and realizing something of the          
situation1 he began to beat a retreat1  
taking the spigot with him4    ,here6   
you young ,benjamite 7,dodd was         
left-handed1 and the old  gentleman was 
well posted in ,bible lore71 bring back 
that spigot4    ,but the boy ran like a 
white-head that he was1 and a race of   
several  yards ensued before he was     
caught4  ,but the old man was wiry and  
was  urged to his topmost speed by the  
press of the circumstances4  ,he  caught

 ,dodd1 and collared him with a grip    
such as the boy had never  before felt4 
,he dragged the young rogue back to the 
barrel in no  gentle manner1 and thrust 
the plug into the hole1 saving a mere   
remnant  that remained of the contents  
of the cask1 and then devoted himself to
  the little scamp whom he still held4  
,for a few times in a lifetime ,fortune 
puts into our hands the very  thing we  
most want at the very time we most want 
it1 and this was one  of the times when 
the fickle goddess favored the old man  
,stebbins4    ,dodd had dropped the     
riding whip that he had been using1     
beside the  barrel1 and it lay where it 
fell4  ,it was a tough bit of rawhide1  
hard-twisted1 and lithe4  ,the old man's
 hand caught it instinctively1  as if   
drawn to it by an irresistible          
attraction1 and before the young        
lawbreaker1 whom he held by the collar1 
could say1 or think1 what  doest thou8  
he plied it so vigorously about his legs
 and back that the  culprit thought for 

a moment that he had been struck by     
lightning4  ,he  yelled from very pain  
for the first time in his life1 from    
such a  cause1 and tried to find breath 
or words to beg for a respite1 but in   
vain1 for the blows fell thick and fast 
and they stung terribly1 every  one4    
,i'll teach you1 the old man shouted as 
he laid on4  ,perhaps you  think this is
 a little switch1 and that ,i shall only
 tickle you with  it4    ,he paused a   
minute to let ,dodd catch up with the   
general line of  thought1 in his        
somewhat distracted mind1 and while the 
youth danced  about1 he proceeded4      
,young man1 ,i have got to teach you to 
mind6  ,i told you to keep away  from   
this barrel and you paid no attention1  
and now ,i'm going to whip  you till you
 will pay attention6    ,at the words   
going to whip you ,dodd tried to find   
words to beg1 but  they came too slowly1
 and once more the old man wrapped the  
supple lash  about the smarting         
understandings of his grandson4    ,it  

seemed to ,dodd as though his legs were 
fairly whipped off1 and as  if the place
 for the general reception of the       
strokes had left him  altogether2 as    
though he could not endure another blow1
 but still the  supply was unexhausted4 
,he fell limp to the ground1 and fairly 
roared  for mercy4    ,it was the first 
time in his life that he had really     
yielded to any  one1 but he never       
thought of that2 he only groaned and    
begged for  reprieve4    ,the old man   
stopped when he felt that he had quite  
fulfilled his duty1  as he understood   
it1 and then spoke as follows to the    
boy1 who lay  collapsed on the ground3  
,there1 my young man1 get up and go into
 the house1 and after this1  remember   
and do just exactly as ,i tell you4     
,that's all ,i want1 but  that ,i must  
have1 and you must understand it4  ,i   
don't want to be cruel  to you1 and ,i  
won't be1--but you must learn to mind1  
and you had better  learn it now than   
later4  ,don't you ever do again what ,i

 tell you not  to do1 or ,i shall have  
to punish you even harder than this6    
,dodd rubbed his stinging legs and      
wondered if there was anything  beyond  
what he had suffered4  ,he staggered to 
his feet and went to the  house as limp 
as a rag4  ,he did not seek his mother1 
but went straight  up stairs and threw  
himself upon the bed in the back room1  
where he  cried for half an hour1 and   
finally fell asleep4    ,as for the old 
gentleman1 he went back to the barn all 
in a tremble1  his hands shaking like an
 aspen and his heart in a flutter4      
,he busied himself here and there for a 
few minutes1 but finally broke  down    
completely and retired in to the        
granary1 where be fell upon his  knees1 
and with penitential tears besought the 
,lord to forgive him if  he had done    
wrong1 and to help him1 in his last     
years1 to keep the  devil out of his    
heart and life4  ,he prayed for the boy 
too1 and asked  the ,god in whom he     
trusted to lead him in the right way as 

he grew out  of youth into manhood4     
,and then he rose from his knees        
refreshed1 and went about his business4 
,his heart was somewhat heavy1 but he   
reviewed the whole situation and        
concluded that he had done the best     
thing1 and so was content4  ,he knew    
that he had not maimed the child in any 
way1 but had only caused him to  suffer 
intense pain for a time1 a sensation    
which would soon pass away1  but the    
memory of which1 and the dread of a     
repetition of which1 he  trusted1 would 
endure for a lifetime4    ,at five      
o'clock he came into the house2 and     
finding ,dodd in fair good  humor1      
playing with the children in the        
kitchen1 he asked him to go  with him   
and fetch the cows for milking4  ,the   
boy was off for his hat  in an instant1 
and a moment later the two were seen1   
hand in hand1  going down the lane that 
led to the pasture4    ,they chatted    
pleasantly as they went along4  ,they   
even referred freely  to the affair of  

three hours before4  ,the old gentleman 
read him no  terrible lesson as to his  
depravity1 and his probable end of life 
upon  the gallows if he persisted in so 
headstrong and wilful a course4  ,the   
story of the forty she bears he did not 
repeat to the youth1 and no  reference  
was made to the awful death of ,jack    
,ketch4  ,he was too shrewd  an observer
 of human nature to present anything as 
attractive as these  things to the      
imagination of his grandson6    ,tell a 
boy like ,dodd that he is on the high   
road to ruin1 the prison1  or the rope1 
and the chances are that you puff him up
 with pride at his  own achievement1 or 
fill him with ambition to see the end of
 his own  career carried out in this    
line4    ,but grandpa ,stebbins gave    
,dodd none of this4  ,he simply told him
 that  it was the best thing for        
everybody that he should mind4  ,he     
reviewed  the facts regarding the waste 
of the cider1 and showed him how bad he 
had been in doing as he had done1 and   

why he was bad4    ,the boy offered no  
word of remonstrance1 but1 on the       
contrary1  acknowledged his fault1 and  
assured his grandfather that he would   
remember in future4  ,with a light heart
 he ran for the cows1 which  were taking
 a farewell feed along the banks of the 
brook that ran  across the pasture1 and 
it was with a genuine pride that he     
headed them  for home1 especially one   
contrary heifer1 that preferred to have 
her  own way and not obey his command4  
,he ran after her with much spirit1  and
 was quite delighted when he forced her 
to do his bidding4    ,and for you1 good
 people1 who do not believe in this sort
 of thing1  what about this case8  ,it  
is a hard case1 no doubt4  ,there is no 
pleasing feature in its early stages1   
but does not its outcome warrant  all   
its ugly phases8    ,grant that it is   
all old fashioned2 that to you it seems 
silly for the  old man to go alone and  
pray after trouncing the boy1 or that   
you fear  the boy's will was broken by  

this episode1 yet review the facts in   
their entirety1 and see if there is not 
a good in them that you are  wont to    
overlook4    ,the punishment was harsh1 
but it was just such as ,dodd ,weaver   
had  been needing for a long time1 and  
the only thing that could reach him     
just then4  ,it would have been a crime 
to treat in like manner a gentle  little
 girl with a sweet disposition1 but was 
it a crime in the case of  ,dodd8       
,and if not a crime in ,dodd's case1 why
 in other cases like his8  ,and  if the 
punishment was right1 inflicted by the  
hand of the grandfather1  why not by the
 hand of the teacher who shall have     
occasion to resort1  even to this1 to   
put a boy into the right way8  ,i do not
 mean a  cold-blooded whipping1         
inflicted by a ,principal for a trifling
  transgression of a rule in some       
department of school1 under one of the  
assistant teachers1 but a retribution1  
swift1 sure1 and terrible1 that  is     
inflicted by the person against whom the

 wrong is done1 and which  falls upon   
the willful transgressor to keep him    
from doing so again4    ,for this is the
 mission of penalty1 to keep the        
wrong-doer from a  repetition of his    
wrong doing4    ,dodd ,weaver was a     
wrong-doer1 and under the treatment he  
was  receiving from his parents1 and had
 received from ,miss ,stone1 he was     
waxing worse and worse with each        
recurring day4  ,this was really more   
unfortunate for him than for the people 
whom he annoyed by his  lawlessness4    
,there was no likelihood of his         
correcting the fault by  his own will1  
nor could persuasion lead him to reform1
 this having been  worn to rags by ,miss
 ,stone1 till the boy laughed to scorn  
so gentle an  opposition to his bad     
actions4    ,but over all these         
misfortunes and follies alike came the  
lively  thrashing of grandpa ,stebbins1 
and brought the boy to a realizing sense
  of the situation4  ,the young sinner  
found himself suddenly confronted  with 

the penalty of his sin1 and when he     
found that this penalty was  really     
extreme suffering1 he made up his mind  
that it was something  worth looking out
 for4    ,to be sure1 it was not a high 
motive to right action1 but it was a    
motive that led to better deeds on the  
part of ,dodd ,weaver1 and as  such is  
worthy a place in this record4  ,there  
was one man and one thing  in the world 
that be had learned to have a decent    
respect for1 and that  was a new        
acquisition at this period of his life4 
,so long as grandpa  ,stebbins lived1 he
 and ,dodd were fast friends1 and when1 
years after1  the old man went to his   
reward1 there was no more genuine       
mourner that  stood about his grave than
 the hero of these adventures4          
,quarrel with the theory of corporal    
punishment as much as you choose1       
beloved1 but when you get a case like   
,dodd's1 do as well by it as  grandpa   
,stebbins did by him--if you can4       
,,chapter ,,vi4    ,the ,fall ,school in

 deestrick number four had been in      
session for  more than a month when the 
,weavers moved into the country and came
  within its jurisdiction4              
,preparations were at once made to      
increase  its numbers1 if not its       
graces1 to a very perceptible extent1   
from out  of the bosom of the ,weaver   
homestead2 for1 as the youngest twins   
were  now five past1 they were held by  
the inexorable logic of rural           
argumentation to be in their sixth year1
 and so to come within the  age limit of
 the school law1 and entitled to go to  
school and draw  public money4          
,besides1 ,old ,man ,stebbins owns nigh 
onter six eighties in the  deestrick1   
an' pays more school tax nor ary other  
man in ,dundas  township1 an' it hain't 
no more nor fair 'at ef he wants to send
 the  hull family1 he orter be 'lowed   
ter1 coz he hain't sent no one ter      
school fur more 'n ten year1 only one   
winter1 when ,si ,hodges done  chores   
fer him fer his board1 an' went ter     

school1 explained old ,uncle  ,billy    
,wetzel to a company of objecting       
neighbors1 as they all stood  together  
by a hitching post in front of the      
church1 waiting for  meetin' to take up1
 whittling and discussing local affairs 
meantime4    ,so the five young         
,weavers1 headed by ,dodd1 became       
members of the  fall school in deestrick
 four1 ,dundas township1 and were       
marched off  for the day1 five times a  
week1 with dinner for the crowd in a    
wooden  dinner pail1 which was the      
special care of twins number one4       
,this laxity regarding twins number two 
would have been rebuked in a  city where
 there is a superintendent kept on      
purpose to head off such  midgets as    
these1 who creep in under the           
legislative gates that guard  the       
entrance to the road to learning1 but no
 such potentate held sway  in ,dundas   
township1 so the little bow-legged pair 
went to school  unmolested and began1   
thus early1 the heavy task of climbing  

the hill  of knowledge1 starting on     
their hands and knees4    ,is it1 or is 
it not1 better so8    ,amos ,waughops   
7pronounced ,wops1 but spelled          
,w-a-u-g-h-o-p-s1 such is  the tyranny  
laid upon us by those who invented the  
spelling of proper  names1 and who have 
upon their invention the never-expiring 
patent of  custom71 had charge of the   
school that fall4  ,he had been hired   
for six  months1 beginning the last week
 in ,august4  ,school was begun thus    
early  for the sake of getting an extra 
week of vacation during the ,indian     
summer days of ,november1 when the      
school would close for a while to  give 
the boys and girls a chance to help     
through corn-shucking1 and  still get in
 days enough in the school year to be   
sure to draw school  money4    ,amos had
 but one reason for being a school      
teacher1 and that was1 he  was a        
cripple4  ,like the uncouth ,richard1 he
 had been sent into the  world but half 
made up1 and a club foot1 of immense    

proportions1  rendered locomotion so    
great a task that he was compelled1 per 
force1  to choose some occupation by    
which he could earn a living without the
  use of his legs4    ,he had been      
endowed by nature with what is commonly 
known as a good  flow of language4  ,he 
learned to talk when very young and his 
tongue  once started1 its periods of    
rest had been few4  ,from a youth he was
  noted for his ability to argy4  ,he   
was the hero of the rural debating      
society and would argue any side of any 
question with any man on a  moment's    
notice4  ,if the question happened to be
 one of which he had  never heard and   
concerning which he knew nothing1 such a
 condition did  not embarrass him in the
 least2 he would begin to talk and talk 
fluently by the hour1 if need be1 till  
his opponent would succumb  through     
sheer exhaustion4    ,he had been to    
school but little1 and had not profited 
much by what  instruction he had        
received while there4  ,it was an idea  

early adopted  by him that a self-made  
man was the highest type of the race1   
and to  him a self-made man was one who 
worked like the original ,creator--made 
everything out of nothing and called it 
all very good4    ,so it was that1 being
 ignorant1 despising both books and     
teachers1 and  yet being able to talk   
glibly1 he came to the conclusion that  
words  were wisdom1 and a rattling      
tongue identical with a well-stored     
mind--a  not uncommon error in the genus
 under the glass just now4    ,i am sure
 ,i shall be pardoned1 too1 if ,i still 
further probe in this  direction1 and   
unfold a little more the nature of the  
circumstances  that had to do with the  
evolution of ,dodd while he went to     
school to  ,amos ,waughops1 in deestrick
 four4  ,as the plot unfolds1 and it    
shall  appear what kind of a            
pupil-carpenter ,amos really was1 you   
may wonder  how it happened that such a 
blunderer ever got into that workshop1  
the  school room1 and had a chance to   

try his tools on ,dodd4  ,wait a        
minute1 and verily you shall find out   
about this4    ,he was the orphan nephew
 of two farmers in the district1 men who
 had  taken turns in caring for him     
during his childhood4  ,these men were  
school directors and had been elected to
 their positions for the very  purpose  
of getting ,amos to teach the           
fall-and-winter school4  ,this  had     
further been made possible by the fact  
that two winters before the  young man  
had got religion1 and his friends in the
 church had an eye  on him for the      
ministry4  ,to work him toward this goal
 they had  resolved that he1 being poor1
 should teach their school to fill his  
purse2 and so glorify ,god through the  
school fund1 and his uncles had  been   
chosen directors to that end4    ,hush6 
,don't say a word6  ,the thing is done1 
time and again1 all over  the country6  
,the matter had been set up for the year
 before1 but the examiner of  teachers  
had vetoed the plan by refusing a       

certificate to teach to the  young man  
who talked so much and knew so little4  
,this official had  asked the candidate1
 when he came for examination1 to add   
together #b_/c1  #c_/d1 #e_/f1 and      
#g_/h1 whereupon he wrote3 ,since you   
cannot reduce these  fractions to a     
common denominator1 ,i adopt the method 
of multiplying  the numerators together 
for a new numerator1 and the            
denominators  together for a new        
denominator#baj_/egf6  ,this1 reduced to
 the greatest  common divisor1 or1 add  
numerators and denominators#ag_/ba6     
,please do not think that ,i am jesting1
 for ,i have copied this quotation      
verbatim from a set of examination      
papers that lie before me as ,i  write1 
papers that were written before the very
 face and eyes of an  examiner in this  
great ,state of ,illinois1 by a bona    
fide candidate for  a certificate1 on   
the #afth day of ,december1 in the year 
of grace1 #ahge2  the man who wrote them
 being over thirty years of age and     

having taught  school for more than half
 a decade6  ,this is a truthful tale1 if
  nothing else4    ,so ,amos did not    
teach the first year that his friends   
and relations  wanted him to4  ,his     
friends and relations1 however1 had     
their own way  about it after all1 for  
they met and resolved that it should be 
,amos  or nobody1 and they got the      
latter4  ,that is1 they asked the       
examiner  to send them a teacher if he  
would not let them have the one they    
wanted4    ,the examiner asked them what
 they would pay for a good teacher and  
they  replied1 ,twenty dollars a month6 
,the poor man sent them the best he  had
 for that money1 but it was of so poor a
 quality that it could ill  stand the   
strain put upon it by the wrangling and 
angered patrons of  deestrick four1 and 
it broke down before the school had run 
a month4    ,this year they had tried   
the same thing again1 and the examiner1 
in  sheer despair1 gave them their way1 
as perhaps the lesser of two evils4     

,if any one thinks this an unnatural    
picture1 please address1 stamp          
enclosed1 any one of the one hundred and
 two county superintendents of  schools 
in ,illinois1 and if you don't get what 
you want to know1 then  try ,iowa1 or   
,ohio1 or ,pennsylvania1 or even the old
 ,bay ,state4  ,the  quality is largely 
distributed1 and specimens can be picked
 up in  almost any locality where it is 
made possible by the system that        
permits such a condition4    ,this was  
the teacher to whom ,dodd came on an    
,october morning1 just  preceding his   
ninth birthday4  ,amos had heard much of
 ,elder ,weaver and  had boasted not a  
little of how he would out argy him the 
first  lick he got at him1 and he gazed 
on these small scions of so notable  a  
stock with a feeling that the contest   
had already begun4  ,he put the         
children into their seats somewhat      
gruffly when they appeared1 as if       
resolved to paralyze his antagonist from
 the first4    ,dodd had learned to read

 by this time1 in spite of the hindrance
  imposed by ,miss ,stone in the chart  
class4  ,indeed1 the only redeeming     
feature in his career as a pupil up to  
date1 was his natural love for  reading4
  ,the child had a fondness for this    
art1 a genius for it1 if  you will1     
which triumphed over all obstacles1 and 
asserted itself in  spite of all        
attempts to cripple it1 or to bring it  
down to the level  of his more limited  
attainments1 or to raise these lesser   
powers to a  line with his special gift4
    ,and in this respect1 too1 ,dodd was
 like other children1 or other  children
 are like ,dodd4  ,most of these        
individualities have special  things    
that they can do ever so much better    
than they can do some other  things4    
,why not put them at the things that    
they can do best1 and help  them on in  
this direction1 instead of striving to  
press them down from  the line of their 
special genius1 and up from the line of 
their  mediocrity1 so as to have them on

 one common level1 as some would fain   
have all the world8    ,as said1 ,dodd  
had a special genius for reading4  ,when
 he began to go  to school to ,amos this
 fact appeared at once1 and it speedily 
became a  casus belli between the two1  
for ,amos was a blockhead with a reading
  book1 and the boy put him terribly to 
shame before all the school4    ,he     
could talk1 but he could not read4      
,dodd had come to school with a sixth   
reader4  ,it was a world too wide  for  
his small attainments1 with its         
quotations from ,greek and ,latin       
orators1 ,webster1 ,clay1 ,hastings1 et 
al41 but it was the only reader of  the 
series used in ,amos's school that      
grandma ,stebbins could find in  the    
carefully saved pile of old school books
 that were housed in the  garret1 the   
residuum of former school generations4  
,so1 with a sixth  reader1 the boy went 
to school4    ,this is the common way of
 supplying children with school books in
 the  rural districts4  ,he brought1    

also1 an arithmetic and a speller1 but  
as  his knowledge of the first branch   
only reached to that part of it which   
lies on the hither side of the          
multiplication table1 and as ,webster   
is the chief speller used by children in
 country schools1 and he could  not go  
estray in that point1 these facts need  
not be emphasized4    ,as he brought a  
sixth reader1 to the sixth reader class 
he went4  ,this  also is common in      
schools of this class4  ,it is not      
supposed to be by  those who talk       
learnedly before the legislature about  
grading the  country schools1 and all   
that1 but it is the way things are done 
in  the country1 as any one will find   
who will take the pains to go into  the 
country and find out4  ,it is understood
 by the patrons that it is  the         
teacher's business to put the pupil to  
work with the books that he  brings with
 him1 and in putting ,dodd into the     
sixth reader ,amos only  did as the rest
 do in this regard1 that is all4        

,this class was made up of four pupils1 
two boys and two girls1 tall1  awkward  
creatures1 who went to the front of the 
room twice a day and  read in a         
sing-song tone out of two books which   
were the joint  possession of the       
quartette4  ,the girls used always to   
stand in class  with their arms around  
each other and their heads leaned       
together1 as  they swayed back and forth
 and rattled over the words of the page2
 and  the boys leaned back against the  
wall1 usually standing on one leg and   
sticking the other foot up on the wall  
behind them4    ,dodd was a pigmy beside
 these1 but he read better than any of  
them1  and soon convinced ,amos that he1
 ,dodd1 must be taken down a peg1 or    
he1 ,amos1 would find himself looked    
down upon by his pupils1 who would  see 
him worsted by this stripling4    ,he   
strove to nettle the boy in many ways1  
but ,dodd bore the slings  and arrows   
with a good deal of fortitude1 and      
seemed to avoid a clash4  ,the          

experience with his grandfather had had 
a very softening effect  upon him1 and  
he was slow to forget the lesson4  ,he  
tried to be good1  and did his best for 
many weeks4    ,but ,amos could ill     
endure the condition into which affairs 
were  drifting4  ,every day the boy     
improved in his reading1 till it got so 
that whenever he read all the school    
stopped to listen4  ,this the  teacher  
felt would not do1 and besides this1 he 
had met the parson1 and  argyed with him
 once1 and it was the popular verdict   
that he had not  come out ahead in the  
encounter4  ,all of which tended to make
 him bear  down on ,dodd1 till finally  
he resolved that he would have a row    
with  the boy and that it should be in  
the reading class4    ,do not start at  
this1 beloved4  ,the thing has been done
 multitudes of  times1 not only in the  
country1 but in the city as well1 and   
many a  child has been made to suffer   
for the sake of satisfying grudges that 
existed between teachers and parents4   

,so ,amos was bound to settle with      
,dodd4 ,he watched his chance1 and      
along in early winter he found what he  
was looking for4    ,the reading class  
was on duty1 and ,dodd was leading1 as  
he had for  several months4  ,the lesson
 for the day was ,the ,lone ,indian1 and
  related the woes of that poor savage1 
who1 in old age1 returned to the        
hunting grounds of his young manhood1   
only to find them gone1 and in  their   
places villages and fenced farms4    ,he
 leaned against a tree1 the narrative   
continued1 ,dodd reading it  in a       
sympathetic tone1 being greatly overcome
 by the story1 and gazed  upon the      
landscape that he had once known so     
well4    ,he paused suddenly1 and a tear
 or two fell on his book4    ,stop6     
exclaimed ,amos ,waughops1 brandishing a
 long stick which he  always carried in 
his right hand and waved to and fro as  
he talked to  the children1 as though he
 were a great general1 in the heat of   
battle1  swinging his sword and urging  

his men to the charge1 ,what are you    
crying about8  ,eh8  ,look up here6     
,look up1 ,i say6  ,do you intend to    
mind me8    ,the boy's eyes were full of
 tears1 but he looked up as he was      
bidden  and fixed his eyes on ,amos4    
,this was worse than ever1 and the      
teacher  was more angry than before4    
,see here1 ,i'll ask you a question1 if 
you are so mighty smart4  ,the  book    
says that the ,indian 'leaned against   
the tree4'  ,now1 what is  meant by     
that8    ,the question was so sudden and
 so senseless that ,dodd essayed no     
answer4  ,this was ,amos's opportunity4 
,he waved his stick again--the same     
being one of the narrow slats that  had 
been torn from one of the double seats  
in the room1 a strip of wood  two inches
 wide1 an inch thick1 and nearly four   
feet long--and swinging  it within an   
inch of the boy's nose1 he shouted      
again3 ,the book says  that the ,indian 
leaned against a tree4'  ,what does that
 mean8  ,answer  me6 and again he made  

the passes and swung the slat4    ,i    
don't know1 answered ,dodd1 just a      
little frightened4    ,it was a little1 
but it was enough4  ,amos felt that he  
had ,parson  ,weaver on the hip and he  
hastened to make the most of his        
advantage4    ,do you mean to say that  
you don't know what it is to lean       
against a  tree8  ,why1 where was you   
raised8  ,what kind o' folks hev you    
got8  ,your old man must be mighty smart
 to raise a boy as big as you be1 an'   
not learn him what it means to lean     
ag'in' a tree4    ,it was a savage      
thrust and it drew blood from the boy4  
,my dad may not be very smart1 he       
retorted1 fully forgetting the lone     
,indian1 but he's got gall enough to    
pound the stuffin' out o' such a        
rooster as you be4    ,there was a      
sensation in the little school room1 a  
dead pause1 so still  that the little   
clock on the desk seemed to rattle like 
a factory1 as  it hit off the anxious   
seconds of the strife it was forced to  

witness4    ,this speech of ,dodd's was 
almost too many for ,amos4  ,it smote   
him in  his weakest part1 and for a     
moment he was daunted1 but he rallied1  
and  with a few wild brandishes of the  
slat he felt that he was himself  again1
 and once more led on to the fray4      
,see here1 young man1 you mustn't talk  
to me like that6  ,don't you give  me   
none of your ,methodist lip 7,amos was  
not a ,methodist1 and1 though a         
candidate for the ministry1 he cordially
 hated all outside his own              
denomination71 or ,i'll make you wish   
you'd never saw deestrick four4  ,now   
tell me what it means to 'lean ag'in' a 
tree1' and he glared at  the boy and    
waved the slat again4    ,why1 it means 
to lean up against it1 returned ,dodd1  
who was bound  to do his best4  ,that's 
what ,i think it means2 what do you     
think it  means8    ,the tables were    
turned1 and ,amos almost caught his     
breath at the  dilemma4    ,what do ,i  
think it means8 he retorted2 what do ,i 

think it means8  ,why1 it means--it     
means--it means what it says2 that he   
leaned ag'in'  the tree1 that is1 that  
he assumed a recumbent posture ag'in'   
the tree6    ,it was a bold stroke1 but 
,amos felt that it had brought him      
safely  over4  ,recumbent posture was   
not a vile phrase1 and he patted himself
  on the back1 though he puffed a little
 at the exertion it cost him to  hoist  
the words out of himself4    ,but it was
 ,dodd's turn next4  ,quick as thought  
he retorted3    ,well1 that ain't half  
so easy as what the book says4    ,the  
school giggled4  ,amos lost all control1
 and1 starting toward  ,dodd1 he        
shouted3    ,i'll whip you1 you little  
devil1 if it's the last thing ,i ever   
do4    ,but ,dodd was too quick for him4
  ,he shot down the room like an arrow1 
and out at the open door1 and was off   
like a deer4  ,with his club foot1      
,amos ,waughops was no match for the boy
 with his nimble legs1 and1  flushed and
 beaten1 the gabbler hobbled back to his

 desk4  ,he looked  toward the twins1   
all four of them1 as if to wreak his    
vengeance on  them1 but he somehow felt 
that they were foemen unworthy of his   
steel1  and forebore4    ,as for ,dodd1 
it was his last day of school with ,amos
 ,waughops4  ,even  the persuasion of   
his grandfather1 for whom he had the    
greatest  reverence1 was insufficient to
 get him into the school house again    
that  winter4  ,he learned to do many   
things on the farm1 and helped in       
out-of-door work in all the coldest     
days1 suffering much from cold and      
storm1 but all this he bore cheerfully  
rather than meet ,amos ,waughops  and   
the slat again4    ,under these         
circumstances his parents did not force 
him to school1 and  who shall say they  
did wrong by letting him stay at home   
and work8    ,long suffering reader1 you
 may frown at the introduction of this  
unfortunate man1 ,amos ,waughops1 into  
the thread of this story1 but ,i  can't 
help it if you do4  ,i am telling the   

story of ,dodd just as it  is1 and ,i   
can't tell it at all unless ,i tell it  
that way4  ,you may not  like ,mr4      
,waughops2 you may not like his way of  
teaching school2 you may  say that ,i am
 cruel to harp on facts to the extent of
 intimating that  the mere misfortune of
 being a cripple is not reason enough   
for being a  school teacher2 but ,i     
can't help this either1 because it is   
true1 and  we all know it is4  ,we lift 
up our eyes and behold the educational  
field all white for the harvest and even
 among the few laborers that  are       
working1 we see a large per cent of     
bungling reapers who trample  under foot
 more grain than they gather1 and whose 
pockets are full of  the seeds of tares1
 which they are sowing gratis for next  
year's crop1  as they stumble about4  ,i
 am sure ,i pity a cripple as much as   
any one  can1 but children have rights  
that even cripples should be made to    
respect1 and no man or woman has a right
 in the schoolroom merely from  the fact

 of physical inability to work at some  
more muscular calling4  ,i know there   
are many most excellent teachers who are
 bodily maimed1  and whose misfortune   
seems to enhance their devotion to their
  profession and their success therein1 
but there are a multitude besides  who  
are in the school room solely because   
they are the victims of  misfortune1 and
 for them there is little excuse to be  
made4  ,amos  ,waughops was a factor in 
the evolution of ,dodd ,weaver1 and his 
like  are found by the quantity in the  
rural schools of this and other         
,states4  ,we have had enough of them4  
,it is all right for us to be kind and  
charitable to unfortunate people1  but  
let us be careful whose money and means 
we are charitable with4  ,when the      
,state took charge of the schools it    
removed them from the  realm of         
charitable institutions1 though some    
people are very unwilling  to           
acknowledge the fact1 and it is a very  
common thing for the public  funds to be

 still used indirectly for charitable   
purposes4  ,they are so  used on fellows
 like ,amos ,waughops and his cognates  
of the other sex4  ,it is an            
abomination4          ,,chapter ,,vii4  
,the white drifts of winter grew gray   
and then turned black under the  ,march 
sun that melted them down and drained   
off their soluble parts1  leaving only a
 residuum of mud along fences and hedges
 where1 a few  days before had been     
shapely piles of snow4  ,april came with
 its  deluges of rain that washed the   
earth clean and carried off the         
riffraff of the previous season1 making 
ready for another and more  bountiful   
harvest4  ,what a thrifty housekeeper   
nature is6    ,dodd still stayed away   
from school1 and through slush and mud  
and  drenching rain worked like a little
 man4  ,the fact is1 he had secretly    
made up his mind never to go to school  
again1 a conclusion that it is  no      
particular wonder he had reached after  
his experience with ,amos  ,waughops1 as

 just chronicled4  ,he observed that his
 ready work met the  approval of both of
 his parents and grandparents1 and he   
quietly hoped  that they would let him  
alone and permit him to stay out of     
school so  long as he continued to make 
himself useful on the farm4    ,he said 
nothing about this1 however4  ,his      
training had not been such as  to       
inspire confidence between himself and  
his parents1 and already he  had begun  
to think1 plan and act for himself1     
unaided by their counsel  or advice4    
,nor is it an uncommon thing for many   
well-meaning and well-wishing  parents  
thus to isolate their children from the 
holy of holies of their  hearts and     
force them out into the desert of their 
own inexperience1 to  die there alone1  
or compel them to seek help from the    
heathenish crowd  that is always camped 
around about within easy reach of such  
wandering  ones4    ,how is it in your  
own household1 beloved8  ,look it up1 if
 you dare to6    ,but one day when the  

boy and his grandfather were burning    
corn stalks  in the field1 making ready 
for plowing1 the old gentleman broached 
the  subject of school to ,dodd1 and1 by
 dint of much persuasion1 gained  his   
reluctant consent to brave once more the
 trials of the school room  and out     
himself again under the guidance of a   
teacher4  ,a week later  ,dodd made his 
third venture in the legalized lottery  
of licensed  school teachers4  ,he had  
drawn blanks twice and he was more than 
suspicious of the enterprise4  ,he had  
no faith in it whatever4    ,but the    
counterfeit always presupposes the      
genuine1 and the same system  that      
includes such specimens as ,miss ,stone 
and ,amos ,waughops in its  wide        
embrace1 enfolds also thousands who are 
the worthiest of men and  women4  ,after
 all1 ,virtue is on top in this mundane 
sphere2 if it were  not so1 this old    
planet would have gone to ruin long ago4
  ,let us look  up6    ,amy ,kelly bad  
been awarded the contract to teach the  

spring and summer  school in district   
four1 ,dundas township1 on this         
particular year1 and  with timid1       
anxious steps she had walked six miles  
the first ,monday  morning of the term  
to take charge of her pupils4    ,it was
 her first school1 and she was worried  
about it1 as folks usually  are about   
almost anything that is new to them and 
concerning which they  are              
conscientious4  ,some people never are  
worried1 though4  ,they are  born in a  
don't-care fashion2 they absorb the     
principle from the first1  and it never 
wears out4  ,others are anxious to begin
 with1 but grow  careless as they grow  
familiar with their surroundings4       
,others are  always anxious4  ,they     
never do so well that they do not hope  
to do  better next time1 and they would 
almost decline heaven if they felt it   
to be a place where they must forever   
remain as they are4    ,amy ,kelly was  
of the pattern last described4    ,as   
her name indicates1 she was ,irish4     

,her father and mother came from  the   
old sod before she was born1 and they   
had won their way up from  working at   
day's wages to being the owners of a    
snug farm1 which was  well stocked and  
thriftily kept4  ,they spoke their      
native tongue to  each other when in the
 secret recesses of their home1 and     
talked with  their children and the     
neighbors in a brogue so deeply accented
 that it  would be useless for them ever
 to claim to be ,scotch-,irish1 had they
  wished to make such pretensions--which
 they did not4    ,indeed1 these people 
would have been called very ,irish by   
the average  observer4  ,the old        
gentleman had red hair and only allowed 
his beard to  grow about his neck1 under
 his chin2 wore a strap around his      
wrist1 and  smoked a short clay pipe4   
,his wife was stout and somewhat        
red-faced1  and in summer a stray caller
 would be likely to find her at work in 
petticoat and short gown1 her rather    
large feet and ankles innocent of  shoes

 or stockings4  ,but she was a good     
housekeeper1 for all of these  things4  
,no better butter than hers ever came to
 market1 and her heart  was warm and    
true1 even if it did beat under a rather
 full form and  beneath a coarsely woven
 garment4  ,she had a cheery voice and a
  pleasant disposition1 loved her       
husband devotedly1 was proud of her     
family1 both on account of its numbers  
and the health1 brightness and  good    
looks of her progeny2 and her good deeds
 toward her neighbors1  together with   
her general thrift and good nature1 made
 her a great  favorite in all the       
country-side4    ,such was the family   
from which this young school miss was   
sprung4    ,the girl was just eighteen  
when she went to her new work4  ,she had
  received most of her education in a   
similar school1 in a neighboring        
district1 where she had always led her  
classes1 but had spent two  winters in a
 ,state ,normal ,school4  ,she was a    
trim body1 compactly  built1 had black  

hair and eyes1 and a fresh1 rosy        
complexion that is so  characteristic of
 her class4  ,she could ride a fractious
 horse1 milk1  sew1 knit and cook1 and  
had followed the plow more than one day2
 while  during harvest and corn-husking 
she had many a time made a hand4  ,from 
this cause she was strong and well knit 
in all her frame1 a  perfect picture of 
young womanly health and rustic beauty4 
,she had a  soft1 sweet voice and spoke 
without the slightest trace of a brogue1
 so  surely does a single generation    
,americanize such people1 and was very  
modest and retiring in her manners4     
,like her parents1 she was a devout     
,catholic4    ,it was hardly seven      
o'clock on an ,april morning when this  
girl unlocked  the schoolhouse door at  
the end of her long walk and let the    
fresh  spring breeze blow into its      
interior4  ,it was a small building1    
with  one door1 opening to the south1   
and six windows1 two on each of three   
sides1 all darkened with tight board    

shutters4  ,she threw all these  open   
and raised the sashes for a fuller sweep
 of the air1 for the  school-roomish    
smell was stifling to one accustomed to 
wholesome1  out-of-door air4  ,as soon  
as she felt free to take a long breath  
she  began to examine the room in which 
she was to go to work4    ,the floor was
 filthy beyond description4  ,there was 
a hill of dry  tobacco quids on the     
floor under the teacher's desk1         
historical  relics of the reign of ,amos
 ,waughops1 and equally disgusting      
debris  scattered all over the room1    
special contributions of the free       
,american  citizens of deestrick four1  
who had held an election in the house a 
few days previous4  ,moreover1 the desks
 were1 many of them1 smeared  with      
tallow on the top1 patches of grease    
that told of debating  societies1       
singing schools1 and revival meetings of
 the winter  before--blots that ,amos   
had never thought of trying to remove4  
,the  stovepipe had parted and hung     

trembling from the ceiling1 while the   
small blackboard in the corner was      
scrawled all over with rude and         
indecent figures1 the handiwork of the  
electors aforesaid4  ,pray do not  think
 ,i have painted this picture in too    
high colors1 you fastidious  ones1 who  
dwell in fine houses and live in towns  
and have never seen  sights like these4 
,i have not4  ,there are thousands of   
just such  schoolhouses in this and     
every other ,state in the ,union1 that  
open on  an ,april morning just as this 
one did4  ,it is a great pity that it is
  so1 but so it is4  ,i wish it were    
otherwise4  ,but it isn't1 and ,i       
sometimes wonder if it ever will be6    
,amy took in the situation at a glance  
and resolved what to do  forthwith4     
,there was a house a quarter of a mile  
down the road1 and  thither she bent her
 sprightly steps4  ,fifteen minutes     
later she  returned with two buckets1 a 
scrubbing brush1 a broom and a mop4     
,she  rolled up her sleeves1 disclosing 

an arm that you well might envy1 my     
dear1 you who delight in the display of 
such charms in parlor or ball           
room--charms which no cosmetics can     
rival--turned up the skirt of her  neat 
calico dress1 and pinned it behind her  
supple waist1 donned a  large coarse    
apron that she had borrowed with the    
rest of her outfit1  and was ready for  
work4    ,she righted the               
stovepipe--without swearing--and built a
 brisk fire4  ,then she began to scrub4 
,she had worked an hour1 when she heard 
a voice and footsteps1 and a  moment    
later ,dodd and the young ,weavers      
darkened the door4    ,good morning6 she
 exclaimed1 pausing a moment in her work
 and  brushing back her hair with her   
arm1 as she raised her flushed face1    
which was covered with a dew of         
perspiration2 you had better put your   
dinner pail out by the well1 and then   
you can play in the yard a while1  till 
,i get the house cleaned up a little1   
and again she turned to her  scrubbing4 

,dodd stood in the door and looked at   
the girl in amazement4  ,this was  a new
 phase of the school teacher1 sure      
enough4  ,he thought of ,miss  ,stone   
and wondered bow she would look1 down on
 her knees and scrubbing1  as this girl 
was4  ,he stood in the door for some    
minutes1 till1  finally1 ,amy arose and 
started to carry out a pail of dirty    
water and  bring in a fresh one in its  
place4  ,as she neared the boy he       
stepped to  one side and let her pass1  
looking up into her face as she went by4
  ,she returned his glance and smiled1  
and ,dodd answered back with  something 
akin to a blush1 though the expression  
was such a stranger to  his face that   
the superficial observer might have     
failed correctly to  classify it at     
first sight4    ,amy threw the water    
out1 far into the road1 and went to the 
well1  ,dodd saw where she was going1   
and1 running to the pump1 he seized the 
handle and began pumping vigorously4    
,thank you1 said ,amy1 when the bucket  

was filled2 ,i hardly think you  can    
carry the pail so full1 she added1 as   
,dodd proceeded to grasp  the pail with 
both hands to carry the water to the    
house4  ,better let  me help you1 she   
continued1 taking hold of one side4     
,there1 so2 now  we'll carry it         
together1 and1 one on either side of the
 bucket1 they  went into the house      
again4    ,it may safely be said that   
the brief space of time occupied in     
going  from the well to the school room1
 carrying half of that pail of water1   
was the proudest moment yet experienced 
by the hero of this story4  ,for  the   
first time in his life the spirit of    
chivalry arose in his bosom1  and though
 the act he performed in response to its
 promptings was a  very simple and      
menial one1 yet it was enough to stir   
all the pulses of  his boyish nature and
 to make of him1 for the time being1    
such a little  man as he had never      
before dreamed of being4  ,it is        
,william ,shakspeare1  ,i think1 who has

 it--      ,from woman's eyes this      
doctrine ,i derive1    ,they are the    
books1 the grounds1 the academies1      
,from which doth spring the true        
,promethean fire6    or words to that   
effect4  ,dodd1 however1 knew nothing of
 the great  poet1 but he did know that  
something in the kindly eyes of this    
honest  ,irish girl made him want to do 
everything he could for her1 and help   
her in every possible way4    ,the most 
gallant knight could rise to no more    
sublime condition6    ,when the pail was
 set down and ,amy was once more on her 
knees1 ,dodd  began to look about to see
 what else he could do4  ,the girl took 
note  of this1 and soon set him to work4
  ,she had him go through all the  desks
 and clean out all the places where the 
books were kept4  ,when  this was done  
she gave him something else to do1 and  
to all her  biddings he was most        
obedient4  ,he worked with a will1 and  
carefully1  doing just as he was told to
 do1 and feeling that much of the       

success  of the enterprise on foot      
depended on his own exertions4  ,it is  
such  work as this that counts here     
below1 and transforms the unfixed       
elements of human nature into character 
as enduring as the everlasting  bills4  
,it is a little difficult to realize    
this fact1 just at the time  of its     
happening1 but the after years show the 
truth of the statement4  ,the evolution 
that took place in ,dodd's soul that    
morning was a  measurable quantity4     
,by noon the dirty1 not to say nasty1   
school house was clean and in  order1   
and after dinner ,amy ,kelly began to   
arrange her classes and  prepare for    
school work4  ,during the forenoon she  
had learned the names  of many of her   
pupils from their conversations with    
each other1 and had  put herself on such
 terms with them that the work of       
organizing her  classes was easily      
accomplished1 without annoyance to      
herself or the  children4  ,by four     
o'clock she had her work laid out for   

the entire  school1 and the children    
went home happy1 rejoicing in the newly 
found  treasure of a school teacher in  
whom they delighted4    ,amy knew little
 of many things that are well worth     
knowing in this  world1 but she did know
 how to manage children and how to teach
 school4  ,she was a girl of resources4 
,of such is the kingdom of heaven among 
school teachers4          ,,chapter     
,,viii4    ,it was no longer a task to  
keep ,dodd in school4  ,he went every   
day1  rain or shine1 and was always     
eager to go4  ,moreover1 he studied well
  and learned rapidly4  ,the            
multiplication table1 that had been the 
bane  of his school life1 up to date1   
and which1 under the stupid management  
of ,amos ,waughops and the over-wrought 
,grube methods of ,miss ,stone1 had     
floored him in every tussle he had had  
with it1 now grew tractable and  docile1
 a creature subservient to his will and 
quick to do his bidding1                
unhesitatingly4    ,and what wonder1    

when ,amy taught him this early work in 
numbers by use  of his memory rather    
than his reason2 using a faculty that is
 strong at  this period of life1 rather 
than one which has hardly begun to      
sprout8    ,did you ever think of that1 
dear devotee at the shrine of ,grube1 or
  ,brother ,harris1 or all the rest of  
the train who insist that a child's     
reason should develop largely before he 
has finished the first decade  of his   
existence8    ,these wise ones lay down 
a law 7take up almost any printed course
 of  study1 nowadays1 and you will find 
it all spread out in the first and      
second years' work7 that every number   
must be mastered1 in all its  possible  
arrangements and combinations1 from the 
very first time it is  taken up4  ,thus1
 one must be considered in all its      
possible  correlations to all the       
universe1 and the ,almighty ,himself1   
before two  can be touched6  ,so1 as    
soon as the youth strikes a simple unit 
that  ought to come to him like an old  

friend1 he is straightway packed off  to
 the ends of the earth with the digit   
and made to stand it up  alongside of   
all manner of things1 in the heavens    
above and1 the earth  beneath1 and even 
in the waters under the earth4  ,the    
little fellow  tramps1 and trudges1 and 
compares1 and contrasts1 and divides1   
and  combines1 and eliminates1 and      
expels1 and extracts1 and subtracts1 and
  retracts1 and contracts1 and what not1
 until finally1 he gets all mixed  up   
and concludes that he never can know    
anything about it at all1 and  the dear 
old one1 that came to him at first as   
such a simple thing1  is so tangled up  
with all creation that he gives it up as
 an entirely  unknown and unknowable    
quantity1 and begins to guess at it and 
when he  comes to that point1 look out6 
,he has taken the first step in         
recklessness1 and has begun his initial 
work as a liar6    ,you don't believe   
this8  ,then sit down to the following1 
which ,i clip  from the second year's   

work in a course of study that lies     
before  me3    ,learn to count to #ajj1 
forward and back1 by #a's1 #b's1 #c's1  
#d's1 #e's1  #f's1 #g's1 #h's1 and #i's1
 beginning to count from #j1 and also   
from each  digit1 respectively1 up to   
the one used continuously1 in each case4
    ,just buckle down to this for a     
while and see how it goes4  ,see how    
long  it will take you to master even a 
tithe of this1 so that you can do it1   
even passably well1 and then compare    
your own powers of mind with those  of  
the child that you would fain cram with 
this course and see if  there is not a  
reason why the children do not take to  
this method4    ,i know what you will   
say1 at least to yourselves4  ,i have no
 time for  such a pile of rubbish4  ,you
 say well4  ,neither have the children  
time  for it4    ,but ,amy knew nothing 
of ,grube1 thank heaven1 and gave none  
of it to  ,dodd4  ,he learned to read   
better than ever1 learned to spell1 and 
took pride in standing at the head of   

his class4  ,he plucked flowers  for his
 teacher as he went to school1 and his  
cheeks flushed as she  took them from   
his band and set them in the glass      
tumbler on the table4  ,he even thought 
in his little heart1 betimes1 that1 when
 he got grown  up1 he would marry ,amy6 
,rather young for such ideas8  ,perhaps 
so2 but  these ideas begin to develop1  
often1 when boys are very young4  ,they 
don't say anything about it1 out loud2  
but away down in the deep  hiding-places
 of the heart--oh1 well1 we all know how
 it is1 and what  an influence such     
notions may have upon our lives4    ,but
 for all of these things ,dodd ,weaver  
was still ,dodd ,weaver1 and  there were
 times when he suffered a relapse from  
his high estate4  ,one  of these times  
came as follows3    ,it was a sultry    
forenoon in ,may1 and ,dodd was restless
 and uneasy4  ,he fidgeted about in his 
seat1 teased the boy in front of him1   
and  tripped up a little fellow who     
passed him on the way to a class4  ,his 

teacher watched him for some time1 and1 
at the last offense1 concluded  that it 
was best to give the boy a bit of       
attention4  ,she came down to  his desk 
and said3    ,it's a bad kind of a      
morning for boys1 isn't it1 ',dodd'8    
,the boy hung his head a little1 and    
,amy proceeded3    ,come here to the    
door a minute2 ,i want to show you      
something4    ,dodd wondered what was   
wanted1 but arose1 as he was bidden1 and
 went  to the door1    ,do you see that 
tree1 away down the road8 said ,amy1    
pointing to a  large maple that was more
 than a quarter of a mile away4    ,dodd
 said that he saw the object pointed    
out4    ,well1 now1 ,i want you to start
 here and run to that tree just as fast 
as you can1 and then turn right around  
and run back again1 and ,i'll  stand    
right here all the time and watch you1  
and see how long it takes  you to go and
 come2 and she drew out her watch as she
 spoke4    ,dodd looked at her for an   
instant1 but the next moment he was off 

with a bound and ran his best1 both     
going and coming4  ,he returned         
presently1 having made most excellent   
time4  ,amy told him how many  minutes  
he had been gone1 and bade him take his 
seat4  ,the boy was a  little in doubt  
as to just why he was called on to      
perform this feat2  but1 between        
pondering over the affair and being     
tired from his race1  he was a good boy 
all the rest of the morning6  ,the girl 
had simply  given the child a chance to 
work off his superfluous animal spirits1
  and1 with this quantity reduced to a  
safety limit1 he was himself again4     
,what a pity there are not more teachers
 who appreciate the value of a          
safety-valve6    ,the incident is but   
one of a score that illustrate the      
resources of ,amy  ,kelly in the        
management of ,dodd ,weaver4  ,she was  
always taking the  boy by surprise4  ,he
 was wayward and wilful at times1 but   
her genius  was equal to the emergency4 
,she won him by her divine power to do  

just  that thing1 as her class always   
does1 and as none others can4  ,she was 
born to teach1 or with the teaching     
faculty--with a genius for that  work2  
and her success was marked from the     
first4  ,she did for ,dodd  ,weaver in a
 single term more than all the former   
years had done2 she  made a record in   
his character that will never be        
effaced4    ,and do not say that ,i have
 overdrawn this picture1 either4  ,don't
 turn  up your noses1 my dears1 because 
this girl came from a very humble and   
unpretentious ,irish family4  ,i tell   
you1 genius has a way of its own1  and  
there is no accounting for it4  ,it was 
a good while ago that a  conservative   
old ,pharisee thought that he had       
forever silenced the  followers of the  
greatest ,genius the world ever saw by  
putting at them  the conundrum1 ,can any
 good come out of ,nazareth8  ,but good 
did come  out of that barren country in 
spite of the conundrum6  ,and so it     
keeps  on doing1 constantly4  ,it comes 

from other places1 too1 and that is all 
right4  ,the point is that we want to   
open our eyes and see it1 no  matter    
where it comes from4    ,amy ,kelly was 
a godsend to ,dodd ,weaver4  ,she came  
to him through the  medium of a country 
school4  ,she won the boy as such       
teachers always do  win boys1 and always
 will win them2 and her reward ought to 
be great4  ,it was only twenty-five     
dollars a month1 reckoned on the order  
book of  deestrick four1 but there is no
 telling what it will be on the other   
side4  ,but such as ,amy can afford to  
wait for that4          ,,chapter ,,ix4 
,dodd went to school to ,amy ,kelly     
faithfully all that summer4  ,he was    
neither tardy nor absent during the     
term1 and when school was over it       
seemed to him as though something was   
gone out of his life2 something  that he
 would have liked to keep always4       
,but in the fall ,elder ,weaver was     
sufficiently rejuvenated to enter the   
field again1 and after conference he    

once more set out on his                
peregrinations4  ,for several years     
thereafter it was true of him as it  is 
of so many of his kind--he was just two 
years in a place1 and then  forever     
moving4    ,this gave ,dodd a change of 
pedagogic administration on an average  
once a year2 for each village would     
usually manage to change teachers  on   
the off years1 at least1 when they      
didn't change preachers1 and so  keep up
 the principle of rotation in office1   
which is so dear to the  average        
,american heart4  ,what a glorious thing
 the fickle will of the  people is in   
some of its petty phases6    ,a change  
of teacher once a year1 however1 is not 
beyond the average of  pupils in this   
country4  ,i know of schools where the  
pupils1 change  teachers six times a    
day1 every school day in the year1      
besides now and  then an extra when a   
principal or a superintendent turns     
himself loose  on them for an hour or   
two in a term6  ,dodd's quota of changes

 should  not1 therefore1 be regarded as 
extravagant2 that is1 according to some 
of the authorities4    ,in after years  
the memory of those four months with    
,amy ,kelly remained  with the boy1 an  
oasis in the trackless ,sahara of his   
school life4  ,in  this dreary expanse  
now and then a shadow of hope arose1 as 
if to lure  him on1 as some new teacher 
came up over his horizon1 but in the    
main  these all proved delusions1       
mirages that glittered at phantom       
distances1 but faded away into empty    
nothingness as he took a nearer  view of
 them4  ,this constant cheating of his  
vision1 this deferring of  his hope1 in 
time made his heart sick1 and he        
gradually relapsed into  his old hatred 
of books and schools and school teachers
 and all that  pertained thereto4       
,there was prim ,miss ,spinacher1 thin  
as a lath and bony1 with hands that  you
 could almost see through and fingers   
that rattled against each  other when   
she shook one threateningly at a boy or 

girl4  ,she had a  hobby of keeping her 
pupils perpetually front face1 and of   
having them  sit up straight all the    
time1 with folded arms1 so that her     
school room  always had the appearance  
of a deal board stuck full of stiff     
pegs1 all  in rows1 every one as tight  
in its place as a wedge and never to be 
moved on any account whatever4    ,right
 opposite to the school house where this
 woman taught was a rich  man's         
residence1 in the front yard of which   
there stood a marble  statue1 a bronze  
deer1 a cast-iron dog and a stone       
rabbit4  ,dodd used  to look over to    
these when he was very tired from       
sitting up so  straight so long1 and    
wish that ,miss ,spinacher had a roomful
 of such  for pupils4  ,it would have   
been as well for her and ,dodd and the  
rest  of the school if she had4         
,perhaps it would have been better6     
,yet you  all know ,miss ,spinacher1    
don't you1 ladies and gentlemen8        
,again1 he fell into the hands of ,mr4  

,sliman1 whose sole end and aim in  life
 as a school teacher was the            
extermination of whispering4  ,for this 
purpose he had devised a set of rules1  
which he had printed in full and  sent  
all over town to every patron of the    
school4    ,the self-reporting system   
was the hobby of this man4  ,dodd told  
the  truth to him for a few evenings1 at
 roll-call1 acknowledging that he  had  
whispered1 as he and all the rest of the
 pupils had2 but he soon  observed that 
it was the custom of most of the boys   
and girls to  falsify about their       
conduct1 and that they got great glory  
thereby4    ,he took up this custom     
himself ere long4  ,it troubled his     
conscience a  good deal at first1 but by
 dint of constant daily practice he got 
so  that he could look his teacher      
squarely in the eye and answer perfect  
as well as any one1 even if he had      
whispered the whole day through1 and    
knew that the man who recorded his mark 
knew he had and set down a  clean record

 for the sake of having a good score to 
show to visitors6    ,oh1 ,mr4 ,sliman1 
you were very sharp1 weren't you8  ,you 
thought you did  your little trick so   
cleverly that no one would find you out1
 but your  kind always think that6      
,it did make a fine showing for         
visitors1 this clean whispering record  
of yours1 and it was a fine thing for   
you to talk about at teachers'          
meetings1 where you boasted to your     
fellows of what you had done1 and       
looked so honest1 and made them all feel
 so envious1 as you drew forth  your    
record-book from next your shiny        
shirt-bosom1 and showed how there  was  
no denying your statement1 for the      
testimony was all down in black  and    
white6  ,it was all very nice1 but it   
was very1 very bad1 for all  that4      
,you knew it was1 too1 and most of us   
who heard you brag knew it was2  but    
that didn't make very much difference1  
because we were old and  could stand it1
 and as for you--the less said the      

better4    ,but not so with ,dodd4      
,here was where the harm came in1 you   
wicked man4  ,you evolved the lying     
element of this boy's nature4  ,heaven  
knows that he had enough of this        
naturally1 as ,i have plainly stated in 
the early chapters of this  story2 but  
you forced a hot-bed growth out of the  
seeds of falsehood  that were lying     
dormant in ,dodd's young mind4    ,amy  
,kelly had covered these up1 under the  
foundation walls of truth1 so  deep that
 if you had built on what she started   
the germs would have  died where they   
lay4  ,but no1 you threw down the square
 blocks that ,amy  had laid with so much
 care2 you spread the dung of deception 
over the  dying seeds1 and by the help  
of the unnatural heat which this        
foulness  generated1 brooding down from 
above1 you sprouted the germs of untruth
  in the boy's soul1 and set a-growing  
plants whose roots run down into  hell6 
,you taught ,dodd ,weaver to believe    
that a lie was better than the  truth2  

that it would serve him better2 bring   
him more glory2 make him  stand better  
in the eyes of his fellows1 and that no 
one could find him  out in all this     
trickery and deception4    ,dodd learned
 in your school2 ,o1 yes2 he learned    
that which it took  him many years to   
forget1 and you are to blame for it4    
,some day ,i hope  you may be compelled 
to face that lying old record of yours  
and that  lightning flashes of guilt may
 be made to blaze into your treacherous 
eyes from out those pages that looked so
 clean when you showed them  off1 while 
the thunder of outraged truth rolls     
about your head till  your teeth chatter
 in your mouth and your bones shake in  
your deceitful  skin4    ,you see things
 must be made even somehow1 and         
somewhere1 and such a  sinner as you    
have been deserves all this and more    
too4    ,then1 there was ,mr4 ,sharp1   
who kept green and growing the shoots   
that  ,mr4 ,sliman had sprouted4        
,attendance was ,mr4 ,sharp's hobby4    

,he kept  a blackboard in the front hall
 of his school house1 where it would be 
the first thing any one would see when  
he came into the building1 and  on this 
he scored the record of attendance every
 day4    ,there was no harm in that1 ,i 
am sure2 but then1 this teacher used to 
keep the clock a little slower than town
 time1 and besides1 be had a  way of    
ringing bells and bells at morning and  
at noon1 and of not  counting as tardy  
any one who got into the building any   
time before the  ringing of the last    
bell1 which really did not go off until 
some  minutes after it should have done2
 and then there was the back way of     
written excuses1 by which a fellow could
 sneak up in the rear and rub  out a    
mark that really stood against him1 and 
not have it count on the  board down in 
the hall2 and absences of a certain     
character were not  counted either4     
,so1 take it all in all1 ,dodd saw      
clearly that the  shown record and the  
real record were not the same things by 

a long  way1 but that it was the former 
on which ,mr4 ,sharp relied for his     
power  and glory with the patrons of the
 school1 and before the board of        
education4  ,so it was that ,mr4 ,sharp 
watered what ,mr4 ,sliman planted1  and 
,dodd had to stand it all4    ,and then 
there was ,miss ,slack1 and ,miss       
,trotter1 and ,mr4 ,skimpole 7a  lineal 
descendant of the urbane ,harold71 and  
,mr4 ,looseley1 and ,mr4  ,rattler1 and 
,striker1 and ,bluffer1 and ,smiley2 all
 these took a hand at  the mill that was
 rolling out the character of ,dodd     
,weaver1 and there  are marks of their  
varied crankings upon him to this day4  
,one year he fell into the hands of old 
,mrs4 ,heighten4  ,she was a widow  who 
had been rich1 but was now poor1 and who
 had a place in the schools  because she
 needed it4  ,she was so much like all  
the rest of this sort  that she need not
 be further described1 and were it not  
for one  characteristic she should      
remain in oblivion1 so far as this      

record is  concerned4  ,but for this ,i 
must have her out4    ,she was poor and 
really a proud beggar of public charity1
 yet she was  of such genteel and lofty 
birth and bearing that teaching was a   
bore to  her4  ,she really despised and 
hated her pupils1 and they returned     
these  sentiments with interest4  ,there
 was always rebellion in her room1 and  
to suppress it she resorted to all sorts
 of penalties and punishments4  ,she    
used to make pupils stand on the floor  
and extend an arm on a level  with the  
shoulder1 and so hold a book till it    
seemed as if the arm  would break off4  
,she herself stood by with a pin in her 
hand1  meanwhile1 holding it at a slight
 distance below the extended arm and    
sticking it into the hand of the        
suffering one if the aching member  were
 lowered an inch4    ,o ,dante1 you     
didn't begin to exhaust the             
possibilities of outrageous  punishments
 in all you saw in the infernal regions4
  ,old ,mrs4 ,heighten  could give you  

several points that you never dreamed   
of1 and not tax  her powers of ingenuity
 very much either4    ,yet ,dodd worked 
the genius of this respectable old      
beldame to the  very verge of           
bankruptcy4   ,she tried device after   
device upon the boy1  till at last it   
got to be a kind of race between the two
 as to which  should win4  ,the old lady
 had no genuine interest in the welfare 
of her  pupil4  ,he annoyed her and she 
wanted to rid herself of the annoyance4 
,that is a simple statement of the case 
from her side4  ,as for ,dodd1  he      
delighted in tormenting her as he would 
in teasing a snake4  ,to be  sure there 
was danger in the sport1 but boys are   
fond of danger1  especially if it       
promises fun4    ,so the days wore on1  
till at last the case became unbearable1
 and  ,dodd was suspended4  ,oh6 but    
that was hard on the boy6  ,it hurt him 
terribly6  ,the suspension came when the
 skating of the winter was the  very    
best1 and ,dodd skated the vacation     

away1 and felt1 ,oh1 so badly  about    
being out of school6    ,when the week  
of suspension was over he came back1    
fuller of the devil  than ever1 and     
during a single forenoon did more       
mischief than he had  before been       
capable of perpetrating in a month4  ,he
 was fourteen now1 a  stout chunk of a  
boy1 awkward1 defiant1 and reckless4    
,he stayed in  school two days this     
time1 and was again suspended4  ,he came
 back once  more after that and was then
 expelled4  ,he left school with a whoop
 and  was on the streets most of the    
time thereafter4  ,it was then that his 
reputation as a bad boy began to grow   
rapidly4  ,he frequented the depot  of  
the town and was on speaking terms with 
the railroad employes of the  line4  ,he
 chewed tobacco in great mouthfuls1     
swore a great deal1 and  spent his days 
in loafing4  ,he had plans for going on 
the road as a  brakeman when he became a
 year or two older4  ,every day he sunk 
lower  and people shook their heads and 

said1 ,how his mother's heart must      
ache6    ,but old ,mrs4 ,heighten drew  
her #ee a month just the same1 right    
along2  and her daughter ,amanda1 who   
never did an honest day's work in all   
her  life1 but lived in idleness1       
supported by the aforesaid #ee--she was 
the pride of the town4  ,she went to    
church every ,sunday and sang in the    
choir1 and at charity fairs she always  
stood behind the prettiest  table1      
dressed in the prettiest clothes1 and   
smiled and blushed and  seemed so       
innocent and coy4  ,and there were rich 
young men who hung  about her1 and      
,amanda smiled on them1 too1 and people 
said1 ,what a  lovely girl6  ,and her   
mother hoped that her daughter might    
marry one  of these rich young men2 it  
didn't make much difference which1 so   
long  as he was rich and could keep     
,amanda in idleness1 while she could go 
and live on his bounty and quit the     
school room that she hated and have  a  
rosewood coffin and plenty of carriages 

at her funeral4    ,but until all these 
things were accomplished the old lady   
had to have  a place1 and ,amanda lolled
 about in idleness4    ,meantime ,dodd  
waxed worse and worse4    ,do you see   
any relation between ,dodd and ,amanda1 
good folks8  ,if you  do1 remember that 
this boy was only one of scores of      
pupils that had to  suffer1             
substantially as he did1 that the poor  
and proud ,mrs4 ,heighten  and her lazy 
daughter ,amanda might continue to keep 
up appearances1 and  still have a chance
 to sponge a living off some man at the 
expense of a  legal relation which it is
 sacrilege to call marriage4    ,out    
upon such proud and lazy frauds1 every  
one of them1 whose worthless  lives are 
sustained by the destruction of the     
characters of children  like ,dodd      
,weaver1 and all the rest who fall under
 such tuition6          ,,chapter ,x4   
,so it was that ,dodd got into the      
street and achieved the reputation  of  
being a boy that no teacher could do    

anything with4  ,in the year or  two    
that followed he made several starts at 
school1 but his reputation  always      
preceded him1 and the old story was told
 over again--one or two  suspensions1   
then expelled4    ,so time went on till 
,dodd was nearly seventeen4  ,he was    
almost a man  grown now--a swaggering1  
profane1 vulgar fellow1 who ate his     
meals at  home and slept there1 usually1
 but further than that lived apart from 
his parents1 who every day regretted    
that ever he had been born4    ,you all 
know this boy1 don't you1 beloved8  ,he 
is in every town that ,i  know of1 and  
there are duplicates and triplicates1   
not to say  centiplicates1 of him in    
some of our larger cities4  ,i wonder if
 it is  worth while to try to do        
anything with these boys1 or for them8  
,the  machine has dropped them1 or      
thrown them out4  ,they will not run    
through the great educational mill known
 as the graded system4  ,they  seem     
destined to go to the bad1 and it seems 

to me the tendency of the  machine1 and 
some of its managers1 is to let them go4
  ,yet they ought  not to go4  ,as there
 is a ,god in heaven1 they ought not to4
    ,but the machine does not care so   
very much for these things1 either for  
the boys or for the ,personage just     
mentioned1 whose name the managers      
revere enough to teach the children that
 it should always be written  with a    
capital letter1 but further than that do
 not trouble themselves  much about it4 
,the machine is built on the theory that
 the pupils are  made for the schools1  
rather than the schools for the pupils1 
and that  the order of the grades must  
be maintained1 no matter what becomes of
  the graded4  ,what is it to this great
 mill if the pupils do fall out of  the 
hopper8  ,so long as the mill grinds and
 the grinders can hold their  places at 
the crank2 so long as they can draw     
their pay1 escape public  censure1 dodge
 behind a stack of examination papers   
when individual  complaints appear1     

shield themselves from responsibilities 
by records  and marks1 keep the         
promotions in order1 graduate a class a 
year in  good clothes and with pretty   
speeches1 see each of those who have    
been  ground through go out into the    
great world armed with a diploma tied up
  with a blue ribbon1 and so            
following--so long as the machine can do
 all  this1 what is the use of paying   
any attention to ,dodd ,weaver and such 
incorrigibles as he1 who refuse to go   
into the mill and be ground8  ,what1    
indeed8    ,however1 you know the story 
of the ninety-and-nine4  ,at least you  
ought to know it4  ,it has an           
application in these premises4    ,but  
,elder ,weaver shifted his base of      
operations once more1 and ,dodd  had    
another chance4    ,he had now got so   
far down on the ladder of his descent   
that he was  counted almost dangerous4  
,his father feared him1 and he was even 
the  terror of his brothers and sisters4
  ,in a word1 he was a hard case4    ,it

 was the town of ,emburg in which the   
parson was stationed this  time--one of 
those towns so common all through the   
,west1 places that  start out with a    
boom and the prospect of being          
municipalities of at  least #ejj1jjj    
inhabitants in a few years2 whose       
founders lay out into  town lots all the
 land that joins them and sell these at 
fabulous  prices to those who are       
credulous enough to buy2 and which      
finally  settles down to a quiet village
 of about #b1ejj souls1 with a depot1   
stores1 seven churches1 and a school    
requiring about ten teachers to  take   
care of its pupils4    ,mr4 ,charles    
,bright was principal of the ,emburg    
schools the fall that  ,parson ,weaver  
came to take charge of the ,methodist   
,episcopal church at  that place4  ,he  
was #cj years of age1 a nervous1        
sensitive man1 both of  which           
characteristics had been intensified by 
severe work in the school  room4  ,he   
was less than the average height and    

thin in flesh1 the scale  beam tipping  
at #abj when he stood on the platform to
 balance the  weight4  ,his face was    
thin and his beard scattered1 but his   
large black  eyes were as keen as a     
lance1 and they always seemed to see    
everything  that came within the range  
of vision4  ,he was fairly educated1 but
 in  no sense a great scholar4  ,his    
patrons called him ,professor1 but he   
made no claim to the title1 and it was  
offensive in his ears when  applied to  
himself4  ,he was characterized with    
excellent common sense1  and1 best of   
all1 was a man of resources4  ,he was an
 excellent  classroom worker1 managed   
his school well1 and was held in high   
esteem  by his fellow-teachers and his  
pupils4  ,above all1 he was a man whose 
personality impressed itself upon those 
with whom he associated1 and  whose     
character was strong and wholesome1     
making itself felt upon his  pupils     
continuously4    ,to this man came      
,parson ,weaver on a memorable morning1 

when the  following dialogue ensued1    
after the two had made themselves known 
to  each other3    ,i have a son1 said  
the parson1 whom ,i should like to send 
to school  to you4    ,certainly1       
replied ,mr4 ,bright1 send him along1   
and we will endeavor  to take care of   
him1 amongst us4    ,yes1 said the      
,elder1 but ,i am grieved to be obliged 
to say that my  boy is very wayward4    
,he has been expelled from school so    
often1 and  has had so much trouble with
 his teachers that ,i doubt if you can  
do  anything with him4  ,i thought1     
however1 that ,i would come and speak to
  you about him1 and if you were willing
 to try him1 at least for a  little     
while1 ,i should be under great         
obligations4  ,for1 really1 it is  a    
terrible thing1 sir1 for one to feel    
that he must give up a  first-born son  
and see him go down to destruction4     
,and yet ,i am  compelled to say frankly
 to you that ,i fear our boy is almost  
beyond  hope4    ,this was said in an   

agonized tone that told how deeply the  
sorrow had  taken hold of the father's  
heart4  ,there is a sentence somewhere  
that  reads1 ,if thou canst1 have mercy 
on us and save our son1 for he is       
grievously tormented4  ,the world is    
much the same now as it was a good  many
 years ago1 isn't it8    ,how old is    
your boy8 asked ,mr4 ,bright in a quiet1
 measured tone4    ,nearly seventeen1   
replied the parson1 but he is greatly   
behind in  his school work4  ,as ,i     
said1 he has been turned out of school  
till he  hates it1 and1 to tell the     
truth1 he has done little but roam the  
streets for the last few years4  ,i feel
 that ,i ought to be ashamed1  being his
 father1 to make such a confession1 but 
it is the truth1 and ,i  felt that you  
ought to know about it4    ,yes1 said   
,mr4 ,bright thoughtfully4    ,if you   
could take charge of him yourself1      
continued the father almost             
imploringly4  ,i know it is asking a    
great deal1 and that perhaps it  will be

 impossible for you to grant what ,i    
ask1 for ,i am aware that my  boy is not
 advanced in his studies as far as the  
average of the pupils  that recite to   
you1 and ,i have long since learned1 by 
sad experience1  the inexorableness of  
the present graded school system1 which 
forces  pupils into their places        
strictly according to their examination 
records1 regardless of all other        
contingencies4  ,i beg your pardon1 if  
,i seem to speak harshly1 he quickly    
added1 fearing that he might have       
reflected too severely upon the         
gentleman to whom he was speaking4      
,you need offer no apology1 returned    
,mr4 ,bright4  ,i regret as much as  you
 can the too rigorous ways that have    
fallen upon our schools4    ,well1 will 
you give the boy a trial8 asked the     
parson1 bringing the  issue to a point4 
,most certainly1 returned ,mr4 ,bright1 
and then the gentlemen wished  each     
other good-morning1 the parson going    
home and the teacher  turning to his    

desk again4    ,it was not until the    
following ,monday morning that ,dodd    
,weaver made  his appearance in the     
school room4  ,his father had urged him 
to go  sooner1 but he cared little for  
the wishes of his sire1 and took his    
time in this1 as he did in all else4    
,dodd came late to school when he did   
come1 and evidently counted on  making a
 sensation on his first appearance4  ,he
 was very shabbily  dressed1 and had    
purposely added to his generally        
slouching appearance  by deliberately   
making up for his debut4  ,his hair was 
long1 and he  had tangled and frowzed it
 all over his head till it looked like  
an  ungainly pile of corn silk4  ,his   
face was grimy1 a big quid of tobacco   
bulged one cheek out1 while stains of   
tobacco juice made the corners of  his  
mouth filthy4  ,he wore no collar1 one  
coat sleeve was half gone1  his vest was
 on wrong side outwards1 his pantaloons 
were ragged1 he had  a shoe on one foot 
and a boot on the other1 the former     

unlaced1 and the  latter smeared to the 
top of the boot-leg with yellow clay2 a 
leg of  his pantaloons bagged down over 
this1 being held up on the inside of    
his leg by hanging it over the          
boot-strap6    ,you who have not taught 
school1 and are not familiar with       
boyhood at  this stage of its evolution1
 may insist that ,i have made ,dodd up  
like  a crazy creature for his grand    
entry into ,mr4 ,bright's school room4  
,perhaps ,i have4  ,but ,i have         
presented him to you as he presented    
himself to the school1 for all of that4 
,i am myself inclined to think  that his
 mental state1 at this time1 bordered   
close upon insanity6  ,the  ,book       
remarks about a young man at this stage 
of his existence1 that he  had to come  
to himself before his reformation1 as   
though he had been  away from himself   
during his lawless and outrageous       
career4  ,i am  inclined to think that  
boys are often a good deal nearer insane
 than  they get credit for being1 at    

this period of their lives4    ,there is
 a psychological condition just here    
that it is worth while for  teachers    
seriously to consider4    ,so1 tricked  
out in this disgusting fashion1 ,dodd   
slouched into ,mr4  ,bright's school    
room about ten o'clock in the forenoon1 
and flung  himself into a seat4  ,the   
pupils looked up as he entered1 and     
their  first impulse was to laugh---a   
result which1 would have suited ,dodd   
exactly4  ,but a glance at the school   
from ,mr4 ,bright's quick eye  checked  
the risibilities of his pupils1 and1    
this emotion dying out1  there came     
instantly in its place a disgust and    
almost a horror of the  loathsome person
 who had dared to disgrace the school   
room with such a  figure as ,dodd       
presented4  ,a silence like death fell  
upon the room1  and all held their      
breath for an instant after the boy was 
seated4    ,under this silence ,dodd    
became embarrassed4  ,it was exactly the
  reverse of what he had counted on4    

,he meant to disturb the school4        
,instead of this1 he found the school   
disturbing him4  ,he shuffled  uneasily 
in his seat1 glanced furtively out from 
under the shaggy hair  that was matted  
over his forehead1 cleared his throat in
 a restless and  seemingly defiant      
manner1 but finally blushed to the roots
 of his hair  as he felt the eyes of    
three-score decent people1 all bent upon
 him at  once4  ,he stretched his neck  
up out of his collar-band a little1     
turned  his head about as though        
something were choking him1 then dropped
 his  chin upon his breast1 shrugged up 
his shoulders1 and half hid his face    
from the eyes whose looks he fain would 
shun4    ,all this really took place in 
much less time than it takes for me to  
tell it4    ,mr4 ,bright was hearing a  
class in geometry when the boy entered1 
and a  handsome1 intelligent girl was in
 the midst of a demonstration when the  
door opened and the interruption caused 
thereby took place4  ,the pupil  paused 

in her recitation1 the end of her       
pointer resting upon the board  at the  
angle under consideration1 and she stood
 thus during the brief  interval        
remarked above4  ,as ,dodd's head       
dropped ,mr4 ,bright turned  his glance 
to the girl again1 and said3    ,if the 
angle at ,a--    ,upon which she took up
 the demonstration where she had broken 
off1 and  finished it as though nothing 
had happened4  ,after that1 other pupils
  recited1 the lesson ended1 the class  
was dismissed1 other classes were       
called1 and the regular routine of the  
day's work went on without  change1 as  
though teacher and pupils were entirely 
unconscious of the  presence of a       
stranger among them4    ,when recess    
came1 ,mr4 ,bright went down to the desk
 where the boy was  seated1 accosted him
 in a civil manner1 and told him that if
 he would  remain a few minutes after   
school was dismissed at noon he would   
talk  with him about his work and assign
 him to his place in the school4  ,then 

he left him1 and devoted himself to the 
other pupils during the  brief          
intermission4    ,dodd did not leave his
 seat during this recess4  ,he sat as he
 had  finally settled himself1 except   
that he now and then raised his head    
and gazed defiantly over the school     
room4  ,the pupils paid no attention  to
 him whatever1 and he really felt       
himself as much alone as though he  had 
been in solitary confinement in a       
dungeon4    ,the recess ended1 the      
school was in order again2 the          
recitations went  on as usual1 an hour  
and a quarter went by1 noon came1 the   
session  closed for dinner1 the pupils  
left the room in groups1 till all were  
gone1 and for the first time ,dodd      
,weaver and ,mr4 ,charles ,bright were  
alone1 face to face4          ,,chapter 
,,xi4    ,mr4 ,bright took a small piece
 of blank paper from his table1 a       
rectangular slip about four inches long 
by two inches wide1 cut  expressly for  
the purpose for which he proceeded to   

use it1 and went  down to the desk where
 ,dodd sat sulking and defiant4         
,please write your name and age on this 
slip of paper1 he said to the  boy4     
,i can't write6 grumbled ,dodd1 with a  
surly sneer and a wag of his  head4     
,i see6  ,you have no pencil1 returned  
,mr4 ,bright4  ,you can use mine1  and  
he slipped that article into ,dodd's    
hand as he spoke4    ,as soon as he had 
done this1 he went to the rear part of  
the room and  began looking over some   
work upon the blackboard4  ,he did not  
look  toward the boy to see if he       
obeyed1 but his ears were on the alert4 
,for a little while ,dodd sat unmoved1  
and made no sign that he  intended to   
write at all1 but as ,mr4 ,bright kept  
working at the board1  the boy gradually
 relaxed his unyielding mood1 and after 
a few minutes  wrote his name in a very 
neat hand4  ,he even added a little     
flourish in  one corner of the paper4   
,mr4 ,bright heard the pencil moving on 
the desk and his blood ran  quicker in  

his veins1 though he showed no outward  
sign of the fact4  ,he  felt that in the
 first crossing of swords he had won4   
,that was all4  ,he heard the pencil    
drop upon the floor1 where ,dodd let it 
lie4  ,but  he still devoted himself to 
his work on the board4  ,he knew that   
the  name was written4  ,it was all he  
had asked4    ,as for ,dodd1 he almost  
wondered how he happened to write at    
all4  ,he  had made up his mind to be as
 mean and outrageous as possible when he
  came to school1 and here he had done  
the very first thing he had been  asked 
to do6  ,when he replied to ,mr4 ,bright
 that he could not write1 he  fully     
intended to have a knock-down with the  
gentleman rather than put  pencil to    
paper4  ,he even thought over hastily1  
how quickly he could  put a head on the 
light weight who had brought him the bit
 of paper4  ,for ,dodd was strong now   
and prided himself on his skill with his
  fists4    ,but the pencil was in his  
hand1 and1 before he was aware1 his     

fingers  clasped it4  ,his hand         
instinctively took the position for     
writing1 and  somehow or other1 there   
came to his mind1 just at that instant1 
the  memory of ,amy ,kelly1 and of how  
she had held her soft1 plump hand over  
his1 as she taught him to hold a pen4   
,if he had observed closely1 he would   
have seen that this was where the  first
 break came in his rebellion4  ,it was  
the sunshine of ,amy's  character       
shining down through the dark clouds    
that had closed in about  ,dodd         
,weaver's soul1 that first tempted his  
timid1 shrinking1 almost  forgotten real
 self out into the light again4  ,habit 
completed what  memory began1 and his   
hand moved1 though almost against his   
will1 as if  guided by an impulse beyond
 himself4  ,perhaps it was so guided6   
,he wrote the name2 but he did no more4 
,when the pencil dropped to the  floor  
he would not touch it again4  ,nothing  
could have induced him to  do so4  ,he  
would have fought a duel sooner than    

have picked it up4  ,his  real self1 so 
weak and so nearly dead1 shrank back1   
exhausted by its  single effort1 and his
 bad nature took control of him again4  
,but ,mr4 ,bright finished the work at  
the board1 and then went up the  aisle4 
,he stooped and picked up the pencil1   
took the slip from the  desk1 with a    
courteous ,thank you1 and moved on to   
his own table4  ,he  had tallied one    
point4    ,i wonder if he did this all  
by himself1 or if there was another hand
  behind it all4  ,certain it is this   
man did not plan all this campaign  that
 ended so successfully4  ,he had not    
counted on the boy's refusing  to write 
his name4  ,it was like a flash1 that it
 came to him to answer  ,dodd's refusal 
as he did4  ,nor did he really intend to
 put the pencil  into the boy's hand    
when he offered it to him4  ,but1       
somehow1 he did  just that1 and it was  
the saving fact in the case4  ,had he   
laid the  pencil on the table1 ,dodd    
would never have picked it up4  ,much   

less  would he have reached for it1 or  
taken it from ,mr4 ,bright's hand4      
,but1  with the pencil in his hand1 he  
wrote4    ,we say ,mr4 ,bright did as he
 did instinctively4  ,that may be a good
  word for it4  ,but ,i wonder if such  
instinct as this doesn't reach  away    
over to the other side1 even into the   
realm of inspiration1 whose  fountain   
head is the spirit of the great ,i ,,am4
    ,be this as it may1 though1 ,mr4    
,bright had won4  ,he was thankful for  
his  victory--thankful1 but not proud4  
,perhaps this is another thing that     
goes to show that there was help from   
without that made for him in the  fight4
    ,dodd was disappointed that ,mr4    
,bright did not compliment him on his   
writing1 for he had written very well   
and knew that he had4  ,but this1  ,mr4 
,bright took as a matter of course1 and 
gave no word of commendation  for it4   
,it was not time for that yet4  ,dodd's 
starved real self1 if  fed with what    
might once have been wholesome food for 

it1 would have  been choked1 perhaps to 
death1 by a bit of praise1 just then1   
and a  wholesome sense of merit would   
have been changed into a detestable     
conceit4    ,a teacher has to be so     
careful about these things4    ,mr4     
,bright seated himself at the table1    
transferred the name to his  register1  
then took another bit of paper and began
 writing on it1  remarking as he did so3
    ,you will please occupy the seat in 
front of you this afternoon1 and        
hereafter4  ,i have written a list of   
the books you will need1 he  added1     
picking up the strip he had just been   
writing on1 and you will  please procure
 them this afternoon4  ,you will recite 
with the entering  class in this room1  
according to the programme that is on   
the board  behind my desk4    ,but ,dodd
 did not move a muscle while ,mr4       
,bright spoke4  ,he did not  look up1   
even when reference was made to the     
programme4  ,he made no  response when  
assigned his seat1 or to his place in   

school4  ,he sulked  and frowned and    
stood out against everything1 and was   
sullen and  malicious to the last       
degree4    ,to all this1 however1 ,mr4  
,bright paid no heed4  ,he stepped down 
to the  boy's desk again1 put the list  
of books upon it1 then turned and left  
the room abruptly1 without a word4      
,the act was so sudden1 so unlike what  
,dodd had expected1 that it left  him1  
for a moment1 utterly nonplussed4    ,he
 was vexed that he had not been able to 
get into a fight with a man  who had    
left him alone2 and yet1 as he raised   
his eyes cautiously1 to  make sure that 
,mr4 ,bright was really gone1 he smiled 
in spite of  himself1 at the absurdity  
of the situation6  ,he felt his cheeks  
wrinkle  up1 good-naturedly1 as the     
smile crept over his face from above 7,i
  think smiles do come from above71 and 
was angrier than ever4  ,he  checked his
 rising good nature with an oath1 and   
raising his arm1 he  struck the desk a  
tremendous blow1 that made the cover    

bound again1 and  the room echo with the
 thud4  ,then he rose1 grinding his     
teeth as he  got up1 and slowly and     
noisily banged his way out of the room4 
,not till three days after this did he  
appear again in the school room4        
,during this time he loafed about the   
town and took particular pains to  be   
where ,mr4 ,bright could see him and    
have a chance to reprove him4  ,but     
though his teacher met him several      
times1 he gave ,dodd no other  word than
 such greeting as true politeness       
dictated4  ,this was worse  than ever1  
for the boy1 who was really spoiling for
 a row by this  time4  ,the machine1 or 
the machine man1 would have had a row   
with him4  ,mr4 ,bright was not a       
machine man4    ,did you ever hook a big
 fish1 when angling with a light rod and
 line8  ,if you ever did1 and have      
succeeded in landing your game1 then you
 know  something about the situation    
which ,i am now noting4  ,you see1 when 
the  odds are so much against you1 you  

have to do as you can1 and not as you   
would like to1 with the wily fellow at  
the other end of your weak  tackle4     
,that is1 if you accomplish what you    
ought to wish to  accomplish1 if you    
fish at all6    ,of course1 there is a  
quick way of deciding who shall win1 you
 or the  fish1 and that is to pull away1
 with might and main1 straight for      
shore1 and undertake to drag your       
captive to you by sheer muscle1         
brutally matching your strength against 
his4  ,but if you try this1 you  know   
that the chances are a thousand to one  
that you will part your  line and lose  
the best end of it1 and your game along 
with it4    ,you can do this1 if you    
choose1 of course--this is a free       
country2 but  if that is your way of    
fishing1 you had better give up any     
little pet  idea that may be lurking    
about you1 that heaven made you for a   
fisherman4  ,perhaps you might make a   
fair superintendent of school  machines1
 but you ought not to fish6    ,or1 you 

may despise the fish1 if you choose1 and
 when he has left you1  you may gloat   
over the fact that anyhow you have stuck
 something into  his gullet that will   
stay there1 and that he can't get away  
from4  ,you  may hope that the trailing 
line will tangle to a bush and hang the 
creature4  ,all this you may do1 and    
yet1 of what avail is it all8  ,it      
benefits neither you nor the fish6      
,but if you know your business you can  
give your game his own way1  suiting    
your motion to his1 till you wear him   
out1 and then he is  yours4  ,that is   
good fishing1 and the good thing about  
it is that it  gets the game6    ,dodd  
was hooked4  ,his staying away from     
school was the first tug that  he gave  
the line that caught him4  ,mr4 ,bright 
let him run4  ,he ran for  three days1  
and then gave up on that tack4  ,the    
fisher reeled in the  line and watched  
for the next break4          ,,chapter  
,,xii4    ,but on ,thursday morning     
,dodd came to school again4  ,this time 

he went  to the other extreme in the    
matter of clothes1 and came into the    
room  dressed like a dandy4  ,he had    
failed to make a sensation1 so far1 and 
he had not been used to that sort of    
thing recently4  ,for years he had  been
 the cause of something unusual1 every  
few hours1 and in ways about  as he     
chose4  ,as it was now1 he seemed to    
have lost his knack at this  art1 and to
 have fallen into the condition of an   
ordinary individual1  concerning whom no
 one cared particularly4    ,this       
annoyed him greatly4  ,he had come to   
think he was of some great  consequence 
in the world1 by reason of his being so 
frequently talked  to1 and prayed over1 
and reasoned with1 and pampered in a    
thousand ways  by those who were really 
afraid of him2 and now1 to be set aside 
without a word or a look1 except such as
 all other pupils got1 this was  a sore 
stroke to his vanity4    ,you see1      
everybody grows proud of his own        
attainments1 in course of  time1 no     

matter what they are1 and is anxious to 
have his fellows  appreciate them to    
their fullest extent1 and to acknowledge
 their  excellence in his particular    
case4  ,so when he fails to secure a    
recognition of his supposed talents1    
then he is cut to the very quick4       
,dodd felt that his eccentricity had not
 yet been fully acknowledged  in the    
,emburg school1 and he reached still    
further for the object of  his desire by
 playing the fop rather than the tramp1 
on his second  entry to the school room4
    ,but it was not a success4  ,the    
pupils had evidently sized him up       
pretty accurately1 on his previous      
entry1 and his second appearance was  a 
more signal failure than the first4     
,he did little with his books during the
 day4  ,he had not come to school  to   
learn4  ,that was the last thing he     
thought of doing4  ,he was there  to    
make a fuss if possible1--a row1        
trouble1 a sensation2 these were  what  
he was after4  ,he went mechanically to 

his classes1 but paid no  attention to  
what was said or done in them4  ,he     
hoped1 though1 that ,mr4  ,bright would 
put a question to him about some of the 
lessons4  ,he was  aching for a chance  
to snub ,mr4 ,bright1 or defy him1 by   
telling him  that he didn't know4  ,but 
he got no questions from his teacher    
that  day1 nor for some days after4     
,there are many ways1 so many ways1 of  
tiring out a fish1 before landing him6  
,so the day wore on1 the first whole day
 in school for ,dodd ,weaver1  for      
several years4  ,at recesses he unbent a
 little1 but he was only  accosted by   
some of the youngest pupils of the room1
 and he felt uneasy  and out of place   
among the larger and more advanced      
members of the  school4    ,it was      
nearing four o'clock1 and the closing   
work of the day was  pressing4  ,mr4    
,bright was more than busy with his     
class1 and the room  was quiet1 the     
pupils devoting themselves to their work
 assiduously4  ,dodd sat listless for   

some time1 but he finally straightened  
himself  up quietly1 his face lighted   
with interest1 and it would have been   
evident to any one watching him 7no one 
was watching him just at this  time7    
that he was about to do something4  ,he 
was4    ,his desk was in the row of     
seats next the wall1 and there was only 
a  narrow aisle between him and the     
blackboard4  ,he could reach across     
this easily4  ,he reached across4    ,he
 picked up a piece of crayon and began  
drawing lines on the board4  ,he moved  
his chalk carefully1 and it made no     
sound4  ,yet his movements  attracted   
attention1 shortly1 and one pupil1 and  
another1 and another1  turned to watch  
him4    ,when ,dodd found that he had   
finally succeeded in securing an        
audience  he felt that his point was    
gained4  ,he winked to a few of the boys
  about him1 and even half smiled at a  
somewhat coquettish girl whose eye  he  
happened to catch4  ,he was winning his 
way1 and he hastened to make  the most  

of his opportunity4    ,he had not made 
a half-dozen strokes with the crayon    
till every one saw  that his sketch was 
a caricature of ,mr4 ,bright4    ,this  
gentleman was not handsome4  ,his       
features were angular and  somewhat     
irregular1 and upon every one of these  
individualities the  graceless artist   
enlarged at will4  ,he turned up the    
nose1 and set the  stray bits of        
whiskers1 and dotted the cheeks1 at war 
one with another4  ,he even went        
further1 and with a few clever strokes  
sketched a dwarfed  body for the        
life-sized head4  ,he worked rapidly and
 turned now and  then to view his       
subject4    ,and all this time ,mr4     
,bright was unconscious of what was     
going on4  ,he  sat with his face more  
than half turned away from ,dodd1 and   
was  devoting all his energies to the   
elucidation of a problem that was       
particularly troublesome to the advanced
 class in algebra4  ,he had no  thought 
of the order of his school room4  ,he   

was too busy trying to  help the boys   
and girls who sat before him1 to have   
time to trouble  himself with the rest  
of the pupils1 who were well able to    
care for  themselves between            
recitations4  ,this was his way of      
maintaining  order4    ,but presently he
 became aware1 by soul or ear1 that     
something was wrong  about him1         
somewhere4  ,for an instant he could not
 make out what it  was1 so deeply was he
 engrossed in his work4  ,then1 like a  
flash1 it  came to him that it was      
,dodd6  ,he turned his eyes quickly to  
where  the boy sat1 and had the good    
fortune to catch that young gentleman in
  the very act of adding the finishing  
touches to his sketch1 with much        
flourish and circumstance4    ,so much  
elated was ,dodd1 that for an instant he
 forgot where he was1  and for more than
 a minute after ,mr4 ,bright caught     
sight of what he was  doing1 he         
continued to put in new lines1 every one
 of which added to  the grotesqueness of

 the picture4    ,meanwhile the school  
saw the situation and began to enjoy it 
hugely1  though now at ,dodd's expense4 
,presently the young man looked up from 
his work and1 glancing quickly  to the  
teacher1 saw that he was fairly caught4 
,like lightning he swept  the brush1    
which he held in his left hand1 over the
 picture1 and it was  gone4  ,then he   
squared himself in his seat4    ,but it 
was too late4  ,he had overshot the     
mark4  ,he heard a sneer of  disgust    
from the pupils instead of the laugh he 
had counted on4  ,he was  down again4   
,he was vexed at the result1 and his    
face drew on an air of  injured         
vexation1 after the manner of his kind4 
,then ,mr4 ,bright said1 stepping down  
to ,dodd's desk1 and speaking in a  low 
tone1 to the boy only3    ,the picture  
was very good2 very much better than ,i 
could have made4  ,i  see you have a    
good deal of ability with the chalk2 ,i 
am glad to know  it4  ,if you care to   
try your hand on the board1 you are     

welcome to do  so at any time2 only     
please do not try to take the attention 
of the  pupils from their studies by    
your pictures1 as you did just now1 and 
without another word he resumed the     
point under consideration when the      
interruption took place4    ,dodd tried 
to look defiant1 but to little purpose4 
,there was nothing  left to defy4    ,i 
have seen men strike so hard at nothing 
at all that they have fallen  headlong  
themselves1 dragged down by the force of
 the blow they had  intended for        
another4  ,dodd was down1 and it was his
 own hand that  had put him there4      
,and it is so much better that way6     
,yet two points had been gained by this 
encounter4  ,mr4 ,bright had  discovered
 that ,dodd had a genius for one thing  
at least1 for the  sketch was really a  
remarkably strong one--so strong that   
the subject  of it would have been glad 
to have preserved it2 and ,dodd was     
fully  convinced that he had no ordinary
 man to deal with in the person of ,mr4 

,charles ,bright4  ,with these two new  
points developed1 the party at the  reel
 end of the line began slowly to wind   
up1 yet again1 and the  party of the    
second part let him wind4               
,,chapter ,,xiii4    ,rome was not built
 in a day nor is a character formed in  
one round of  the sun4  ,a man never    
reaches a great height at a single      
stride1 and  many times he slips and    
falls back1 even after he has been      
climbing a  great while4  ,this is a    
thing that is common to the race4       
,dodd ,weaver possessed this trait4  ,i 
say that he did1 and shall  proceed to  
prove it1 in two ways1 which ,i plainly 
state for the benefit  of the two       
classes of people who can only see the  
same set of facts  from opposite points 
of vision4    ,for the practical people1
 those who believe only what they       
see1--the  unimaginative and severely   
scientific1 if you will1--,i present in 
proof  of the proposition stated above1 
the record of the boy's life up to  this

 point--the bare facts that have        
transpired4  ,for those who bow  down at
 the shrine of pure logic1 who accept no
 conclusion but such as  has been       
hoisted into place by a lever of        
syllogism1 with a major  premise for a  
fulcrum1 and a minor premise on the long
 end of the  bar1--for these1 ,i submit 
the familiar form3    ,a--,all men slip 
and fall back into old ways1 more or    
less 7chiefly  more71 when striving to  
change a course of life that has become 
fixed  by habit4    ,b--,dodd ,weaver   
7,socrates7 was a man 7or near enough so
 to come within  the range of the first 
term above74    ,c--,therefore2 ,dodd   
,weaver 7,soc47 slipped and fell back   
into old ways1  more or less 7chiefly   
more71 when striving to change a course 
of life  that had become fixed by habit4
  ,the form will bear study4    ,i am   
glad to record just here1 too1 though it
 may be counted a  digression1 that for 
once the facts in the case and the      
logical  conclusion reached concerning  

the same tally exactly4  ,what a blessed
  thing it would have been for the      
martyrs1 all through the ages1 if  there
 had always been such happy coincidence 
between logical sequence  and actual    
facts6  ,but what were the world without
 martyrs8    ,i have heard it said that 
pure logic has a mission to perform in  
this  world4  ,the record of its doings 
so far shows that1 chiefly1 it has  been
 engaged in reaching conclusions that   
did not tally with  actualities1 and in 
leading its devotees to persecute those 
who  accepted facts rather than its     
ultimatum4  ,it is this that has        
fostered  more persecution in the past  
than all other forms of bigotry         
combined4  ,even religion herself has   
often fallen a prey to this false god1  
and  the most relentless of religious   
wars have been waged with a logical     
difference as a basis4    ,nevertheless1
 pure logic has its use4  ,i have used  
it to prove that  ,dodd ,weaver did not 
spring from groveling to grace without  

some  set-backs1 ,i have done obeisance 
to logic4  ,i can now move on           
peaceably1 ,i trust4    ,mr4 ,bright    
made a point with ,dodd by his quick    
discovery of the boy's  genius with the 
chalk4  ,in a few days he scored        
another1 when he found  how well he     
could read4  ,indeed1 it was here the   
teacher and pupil  first felt their     
souls flow together freely1 for an      
instant4    ,it was the old ,sam        
,weller's ,valentine selection that the 
class was  laboring with4  ,the boys and
 girls tugged at the dialogue1 but in   
the  main got little from it4    ,it    
came ,dodd's turn to read4  ,he had     
taken in the whole scene and was  full  
of the spirit of the piece4  ,his place 
of beginning was at the  words with     
which ,sam begins his letter1 and1      
commencing there1 he  read1 assuming a  
high-pitched voice3    ,lovely creeter6 
,the school broke out into a laugh1 as  
did also ,mr4 ,bright4  ,dodd  raised   
his eyes for an instant to catch the    

cause of their mirth1 only  to meet the 
approving smile of the teacher1 and the 
slightest nod of  admiration from him4  
,he flushed with a glow of wholesome    
pride1 and  the next instant shouted1 in
 the deep1 husky guttural of ,old ,tony3
    ,stop6  ,a glass o' the inwariable1 
my dear6 and so he continued with  the  
dialogue4    ,it was a revelation to the
 school1 this reading of ,dodd's4       
,after the  first floating breath of    
laughter had passed over the room1 every
 pupil  was full of attention1 and was  
listening to the reading of this        
proverbially bad boy4    ,dodd read to  
the end of the letter and then sat down4
    ,mr4 ,bright said1 ,very well6 and  
marked him #i #a_/b6  ,the two walked   
home to dinner together1 at noon6       
,for many weeks after this ,dodd        
continued as he had begun1 and grew in  
favor with the pupils in general and    
with ,mr4 ,bright in particular4  ,he   
came regularly to school1 studied       
fairly1 and advanced quite rapidly in   

his work4  ,this was very satisfactory  
to his parents1 who saw their  son1 whom
 they had mourned as worse than dead1   
once more clothed and  in his right     
mind4  ,the ,elder was happy and felt   
that at last the  personal influence of 
one good man had done for ,dodd what a  
half  dozen revival conversions had     
failed to do for him4  ,perhaps he did  
not  say it just that way1 even to      
himself2 but we often hear voices within
  us saying things that we dare not say 
ourselves1 even to ourselves4  ,it  was 
a voice within that said this to the    
parson4  ,i merely record the  fact     
without further comment4  ,why should   
anyone comment on such a fact8    ,but  
there came a day--there are always days 
a-coming4  ,there came1 too1  a deed1   
and there are always deeds a-coming4    
,it was in this wise4    ,school had    
just begun1 after dinner1 when suddenly 
,dodd ,weaver arose  to leave the room4 
,there was nothing remarkable in this1  
for it was  not unlawful for pupils to  

leave ,mr4 ,bright's room without       
special  permission4  ,they were        
permitted to come and go at pleasure1   
subject1  always1 to the direction of   
the teacher in each or every case4      
,mr4 ,bright did not notice the young   
man till he had nearly reached the      
door2 then1 suddenly1 it occurred to him
 that there was no good reason  for his 
going out4    ,why are you leaving the  
room1 ',dodd'8 he inquired1 a trifle    
abruptly4    ,to get a drink of water1  
returned the boy4    ,you need not go1  
remarked ,mr4 ,bright4  ,a young man of 
your years  should attend to that at the
 proper time4  ,you may take your seat6 
,it was a little thing1 but it was so   
sudden that it riled ,dodd to  the very 
depths4  ,quick as a flash he returned3 
,i'll go out whenever ,i ---- please for
 all of you1 you ---- ---- ----  ----1  
and here followed a string of           
blasphemous words which good taste  says
 ,i must not write1 though the truth is1
 ,dodd said them1 very  loudly1 before a

 whole school full of young ladies and  
gentlemen1 who  had to hear them4  ,but 
then1 good taste has some rights which  
,i am  bound to respect1 and ,i put     
dashes where ,dodd put most shameful    
oaths4    ,if a thunderbolt had fallen  
into that still school-room it would not
  have produced greater consternation   
among the pupils than did these  words  
of ,dodd's4  ,he turned pale with anger1
 and glared at ,mr4  ,bright1 as he1    
,dodd1 stood with his hand on the       
doorknob4    ,all right2 returned ,mr4  
,bright1 do just as the ',other-,fellow'
 says  about it1 and he turned to his   
class again4    ,dodd stood with his    
hand on the doorknob for a full minute1 
then  turned1 and slowly walking to his 
seat1 sat down6  ,but ,mr4 ,bright did  
not even look that way4    ,and this was
 all there ever was of this episode4    
,mr4 ,bright never once  mentioned the  
occurrence to ,dodd afterwards4  ,he did
 not even  reprimand him before the     
school nor did he speak to any pupil of 

what  had happened4  ,he had won1 and   
yet the odds were so nearly against him 
that be felt it best to be silent4      
,this might not have been your way1     
beloved1 but it was ,mr4 ,bright's way1 
and he was able to manage it4    ,some  
months thereafter1 he had occasion one  
day to reprove a rough  pupil for       
profanity on the play-ground1 and the   
pupil came back at him  with3 ,you'd    
better talk to ',dodd' ,weaver about    
swearing if you are so  anxious about   
it4  ,he cursed you to your face and you
 didn't say a  word4  ,but ,mr4 ,bright 
only replied3 ,that is my affair1 but   
you must  not swear on the play-ground4 
,do you understand8    ,the young man   
concluded that he understood1 and said  
so4    ,and that is how this teacher was
 perhaps logically inconsistent1 but    
nevertheless just1 and able to take care
 of his school according to the         
individual needs of his pupils4  ,happy 
is that teacher who can do so  much6    
,but the machine cannot do so much1 nor 

can the men who run the machine4  ,the  
machine is logically correct and        
consistent1 according to the laws  of   
the ,medes and ,persians4  ,it treats   
all pupils alike4  ,allah be  praised6  
,yet a single man like ,mr4 ,bright is  
worth whole battalions of  machines4    
,thank ,god6    ,i must take space1 just
 here1 too1 to explain a phrase quoted  
by ,mr4  ,bright1 just above1 namely1   
the ,other-,fellow4    ,the quotation   
marks are there in deference to ,dr4    
,holmes1 who is  responsible for the    
idea that ,mr4 ,bright had made familiar
 in his  school4  ,that idea was as     
follows1 when elaborated by this        
teacher1 and  was presented to his      
pupils on a ,monday morning1 a few weeks
 after  ,dodd had entered school4  ,i   
give this as ,mr4 ,bright paraphrased   
it1  rather than in the words of the    
,old ,master in the ,poet at the        
,breakfast ,table1 where he first came  
across it4    ,dr4 ,oliver ,wendell     
,holmes says1 ,mr4 ,bright remarked to  

the school1  that in every one of us    
there are two persons4  ,first1 there is
  yourself1 and then there is the       
,other-,fellow6  ,now one of these is   
all  the time doing things1 and the     
other sits inside and tells what he     
thinks about the performance4  ,thus1 ,i
 do so-and-so1 act so-and-so1  seem to  
the world so-and-so2 but the            
,other-,fellow sits in judgment on  me  
all the time4    ,i may tell a lie1 and 
do it so cleverly that the people may   
think ,i  have done or said a great and 
good thing2 and they may shout my       
praises1 far and wide4  ,but the        
,other-,fellow sits inside1 and says1   
',you lie6 you lie6 you're a sneak1 and 
you know it6'  ,i tell him to  shut up1 
to hear what the people say about me2   
but he only continues to  repeat1 over  
and over again1 ',you lie6 you lie6     
you're a sneak1 and you  know it6'      
,or1 again1 ,i may do a really noble    
deed1 but perhaps be misunderstood  by  
the public1 who may persecute me and say

 all manner of evil against  me1        
falsely2 but the ,other-,fellow will sit
 inside1 and say1 ',never  mind1 old    
boy6  ,it's all right6 stand by6'       
,and ,i would rather hear1 he used to   
add1 the 'well done' of the             
',other-,fellow' than the shouts of     
praise of the whole world2 while ,i     
would a thousand times rather that the  
people should shout and hiss  themselves
 hoarse with rage and envy1 than that   
the ',other-,fellow'  should sit inside 
and say1 ',you lie6 you lie6 you're a   
sneak1 and you  know it6'    ,this was  
what ,mr4 ,bright said to his pupils on 
a ,monday morning1 and it  made a       
wonderful impression upon them4  ,the   
same thought always will  make an       
impression upon people if only it can be
 got to them4    ,after this1 he let the
 ,other-,fellow manage his school4  ,you
 can see  how effective it was1 my dear1
 by observing what it did for ,dodd1 as 
,i have just related4  ,it was even more
 powerful1 if possible1 with the  other 

pupils4    ,i commend this              
,other-,fellow to your notice1 ladies   
and gentlemen1 and  especially to yours1
 beloved1 who are teachers of young men 
and women4  ,you can't use him to so    
good an advantage among the younger     
pupils1 but  if you can once get him to 
take control of your larger boys and    
girls1  you have put them into most     
excellent hands4    ,for1 see2 he will  
ply the lash when it is deserved1 and   
lay on heavily  where you would hardly  
dare to lift a finger4  ,does ,mary     
whisper too  much8  ,quietly ask her to 
settle the score with the               
,other-,fellow4  ,is  ,john doing       
something that he should not do8  ,hand 
him over to the same  authority4  ,and  
if you can do this1 and can succeed in  
making this  personage the ,absolute    
,monarch of your school1 whose assistant
 you are1  then be happy1 and teach     
school just as long as you can afford   
to4  ,you  are a god-send to any company
 of young people among whom your lot is 

cast4    ,but if you are a stranger to  
the ,other-,fellow yourself1 don't try  
to  introduce him to any one else4  ,it 
is not well for strangers to attempt    
familiarities1 yet ,i have known such   
attempts1 even in the school room1  and 
by those high in authority1 even among  
the machines4    ,but ,mr4 ,bright had  
succeeded in putting this personage into
 his school  as head master1 and he had 
wrought wonders1 even in so hard a case 
as  that of ,dodd ,weaver4  ,his        
presence in any school will always work 
as  it did in this case4  ,it takes a   
man or a woman of character to use  this
 power1 though6          ,,chapter      
,,xiv4    ,i most heartily wish that ,i 
could go on with this tale without      
recording any further lapses on the part
 of its alleged hero1 but ,i  can't4    
,the facts in the case will not warrant 
such a continuation4    ,nor do ,i admit
 that it was ,dodd's ,methodist blood   
that occasioned  these fallings from    
grace4  ,i have known men1 women and    

boys1 and whole  herds of other people  
besides1 even those who were firm       
believers in  the tenet ,once in grace1 
always in grace1 who yet had their      
infirmities about them1 and whose feet  
still clung to the miry clay1  though   
they did think their heads were in      
heavenly places6    ,on the whole1 after
 observing human nature pretty closely  
for some  time1 even till gray hairs are
 with me to stay1 ,i am inclined to     
believe1 with ,mr4 ,emerson1 that       
,virtue itself is apt to be occasional1 
spotty1 and not always the same clear   
through the piece4  ,this may be        
another case where facts do not tally   
with logical conclusions based  upon    
dogmatic theological reasoning4  ,yet if
 the fact is thus1 my dear  reader1 you 
need not be alarmed1 so far as you are  
concerned4  ,ask  yourself if it isn't  
true1 in your case1 at least1 that you  
have  slipped down from the lofty places
 of your desire and aspiration many a   
time1 even when you have done your best 

to keep in your high estate4  ,human    
nature6  ,that is the key to this       
condition4  ,how to handle this         
unstable quantity so as to keep it up   
continually1 this is a problem  for the 
ages4    ,so ,dodd slipped again1 just  
as such boys are continually apt to do1 
and ,mr4 ,bright bore with him          
patiently1 and worked him1 as a wise    
teacher can and will4    ,the machine   
cannot and will not bear with boys and  
work them4  ,it  suspends them and      
expels them4    ,the ,other-,fellow held
 ,dodd to his work for days and weeks1  
but1  finally1 even this power lost its 
grip1 for a time4    ,it happened--as   
such things usually do1 when the teacher
 is doubly  busy--that ,dodd began      
whittling a stick at his desk and       
covering the  floor all about with the  
litter1 in a most shameful and slovenly 
manner4  ,mr4 ,bright discovered the    
fact just as he was in the midst of  a  
class exercise in which twenty pupils   
were taking part1 all being at  the     

board at the same time and working      
together under pressure of his  rapid   
dictation4  ,he had no time to stop then
 and there to put a pupil  into order4  
,he was flushed and excited with his    
class work1 holding  his boys and girls 
up to the vigorous drill he was giving  
them1 and he  scarcely paused to say to 
,dodd3    ,put up that knife and go to  
work6    ,he did not wait to see it he  
was obeyed4  ,he had not time4    ,the  
next act of ,dodd's that he was         
conscious of was his opening the  door  
to leave the room4  ,he saw at once that
 this move was made simply  to kill     
time1 and to get rid of study1 and as   
,dodd was in the very  act of closing   
the door behind him1 ,mr4 ,bright called
 out to him3    ,come back and take your
 seat6    ,but ,dodd's only answer was  
to slam the door as hard as he could and
  dash down stairs1 three steps at a    
jump4    ,mr4 ,bright rushed out after  
him at the top of his speed4  ,in his   
haste  to make time1 and catch the      

fugitive1 if possible1 he revived a     
custom  of his youth and slid down the  
banister1 making the time of an arrow in
  his descent4    ,then he ran out of   
the hall1 in still further pursuit4     
,but he was too late4  ,he ran around   
the house1 but at the corner he  lost   
the trail1 and though he circled the    
building three times1 and  listened1 and
 dodged back and forth1 to surprise     
,dodd if possible1 he  could get no clue
 to his whereabouts4  ,he went into the 
cellar and  looked all about1 peering   
into the furnace-room and coal-bin1 but 
nowhere could he find the crafty object 
of his search4  ,finally he gave  up and
 returned to the school room4  ,he came 
in out of breath and  perspiring1 and   
met the inquiring eyes of his pupils as 
he went back to  his desk4    ,i could  
not find him1 he said to the school1    
wiping his dripping face  with his      
handkerchief4  ,then he turned to the   
class on duty and resumed  the exercise 
he had broken off so abruptly4    ,i do 

not know what would have happened if    
,mr4 ,bright and ,dodd had met  in the  
heat of this encounter4  ,it is useless 
to speculate on what  would have        
occurred4  ,some of the boys1 waiting in
 the room they had  just left1 offered  
to bet two to one on the master if it   
came to  business4  ,and1 indeed1 there 
were no takers at that1 for ,mr4 ,bright
  had a prowess which would have stood  
him well in stead if he had had         
occasion to use it4  ,but he did not4   
,i am glad that he did not4    ,because1
 it is at such times as this that men   
get beside themselves1  and are apt to  
do desperate things4  ,i have known men 
who had to go  behind bars and stay     
there for many years because they did   
meet the man  they were after1 under    
much such circumstances as ,i have just 
detailed4  ,i remarked a few paragraphs 
above something about virtue being      
occasional1 and we have all need to     
pray1 ,lead us not into  temptation1 but
 deliver us from evil4    ,but ,fate1 or

 ,foreordination1 or ,good ,fortune1 or 
,destiny1 or  ,providence1 or ,luck1    
whichever one of these presided on this 
occasion1--suit yourselves as to this1  
,o infidel or orthodox6  capitalize them
 all1 since some of you will have it    
so--elected that  these two people      
should not meet till they had both      
cooled off a  little4  ,i hope these    
same powers may be as kind to you if you
 ever  have a like need of their good   
offices4  ,many a man has been made or  
broken by the smile or frown of one of  
these deities which are so  entirely    
beyond our control1 and which still make
 so important a part  of our lives4  ,i 
state facts again1 without further      
moralizing4  ,indeed1 ,i could not      
moralize on this theme if ,i tried4  ,i 
don't know  any one who can1 though the 
world is full of people who constantly  
try  to4  ,they all fail4  ,the mystery 
is as great now as it was in the days   
when ,eve happened to walk up to the    
tree where the serpent and the  apples  

happened to be together4  ,one should   
take off his hat when he  speaks        
seriously of these things4  ,they are   
stupendous6    ,nor should you blame    
,mr4 ,bright too much for doing as he   
did4  ,hear the  story out before you   
pass judgment4  ,he was only a man4     
,you are under  the same condemnation1  
my self-contained critic6    ,i will    
admit without argument1 however1 that   
the machine would never  have slid down 
a banister in pursuit of a fleeing      
pupil4  ,never6  ,it  never concerns    
itself enough about the doings of any   
individual pupil  to follow him an inch 
for any cause whatever4  ,the machine   
would have  sat still and let the boy   
run4  ,then it would have suspended him 
the  next morning and expelled him a few
 days later4  ,the machine always has   
regular ways of doing things4  ,it has  
all the rules for its movements  set    
down in a book4    ,but ,mr4 ,bright was
 very anxious about ,dodd ,weaver4      
,when he came to  reflect1 he was glad  

that he had not met him while in pursuit
 of him4  ,yet the question remained1   
what should be done when they did meet8 
,he  thought about this1 deep down in   
his soul1 all the rest of the morning4  
,when noon came he was as much as ever  
at a loss how to proceed4  ,one of  the 
worst features of the case1 as he       
thought about it1 was this3  ,dodd had  
been going to school to him now a year  
and a half1 and he  had begun to think  
that he had a permanent hold upon the   
boy4  ,but here  it was again1 back in  
the same old notch1 and as bad as ever4 
,it does  take so long to make anything 
permanent in the way of character6  ,you
  have found it so yourself1 haven't    
you1 beloved8  ,in your own case1 ,i    
mean4    ,but on his way home to dinner 
,mr4 ,bright saw ,mrs4 ,weaver out in   
the  yard1 and remembering how much a   
mother may sometimes do for her son1  he
 went over and took her into counsel on 
the case4  ,the machine would  not have 
done this either4    ,it is a rule of   

the mill not to consult with parents4   
,if parents wish  consultation1 let them
 talk to a stack of examination papers1 
or a  record-book4  ,this will soon cure
 them of their desire to consult4       
,mrs4 ,weaver heard ,mr4 ,bright's      
statement with tear-filled eyes4  ,she  
had seen ,dodd improve in every line of 
his life1 for some months1 and  had     
begun to form bright plans for the      
future of her redeemed  first-born4     
,but1 alas6 here seemed to be the end of
 all her hopes4  ,however1 she tried to 
apologize for her son1 and1 in any      
event1 she  begged ,mr4 ,bright not to  
give ,dodd up yet4  ,but the master     
shook his  head gravely4    ,and another
 thing1 pursued ,mrs4 ,weaver1 ,i think 
it will be best not  to let ',dodd's'   
father know anything about this4  ,he is
 such a  passionate man that ,i am sure 
he would fly into a rage and attempt to 
beat the boy if he should find it out4  
,and he and ',dodd' are so much  alike6 
,if they should get into a quarrel1 ,i  

fear that one might kill  the other     
before they could be parted4    ,yet    
these persons were father and son1 and  
one of them was a successful  minister  
and a devout man--most of the time1     
,you see1 ,mrs4 ,weaver continued1 that 
my husband has such a high  opinion of  
you as a man1 and he knows that you have
 done so much for  ',dodd1' that if he  
should find out how abominably the boy  
has treated  you1 he would be ten times 
more angry than ever4  ,so let us keep  
the  matter to ourselves1 if possible4  
,i will see ',dodd' as soon as he  comes
 home1 and will try what ,i can do4     
,and if prayer1 or--    ,there1 there1  
broke in ,mr4 ,bright1 quietly1 as the  
brimming eyes of  the woman before him  
began to overflow1 do what you can with 
the boy1  and ,i will not give him up   
till ,i have to2 and so saying1 he went 
on  to dinner4    ,but in a country town
 news travels fast4  ,as soon as school 
was out at  noon1 three-score tongues   
were busy retailing the mild scandal to 

attentive listeners1 whenever met4      
,parson ,weaver sat in the postoffice1  
reading a daily that had just  arrived1 
when a boy came in1 and not noticing the
 ,elder1 began to tell  the tale to the 
knot of men who stood about4  ,they     
heard the story  through1 with many     
,i-told-you-so nods1 and then1 one by   
one1 slipped  out of the office4  ,last 
of all ,parson ,weaver went also4    ,he
 went straight to ,mr4 ,bright's house  
and pulled the door bell  impetuously4  
,the teacher admitted him1 and began    
immediately to try to soothe the        
infuriated feelings of the parson1 who  
was really very angry4    ,i hope the   
matter may come out all right1 said the 
teacher1 for ,i  trust that ',dodd' will
 see things as they are1 when he comes  
to  himself4    ,tell me just what      
happened1 said the parson1 with a kind  
of  desperation4    ,mr4 ,bright        
carefully went over the particulars4    
,when he had finished1  he added3    ,i 
shall be very grateful to you for       

anything you can do to help us all  out 
of this dilemma and get ',dodd' on his  
feet again4  ,for what we must  do1 in  
any event1 is to save the boy4    ,i    
shall do all in my power1 returned ,mr4 
,weaver1 but ,i thought he  was doing so
 well with you1 and now he is all at sea
 again1 and with a  groan he left the   
house4    ,mr4 ,bright sat down to      
dinner and ate a few hurried mouthfuls4 
,he had just risen from his slight      
repast1 when a twin ,weaver burst into  
the room and shouted out3    ,pap wants 
you to come over to the house as quick  
as you kin1 and  having thus said1 he   
turned and ran4    ,mr4 ,bright         
remembered the words of ,dodd's mother1 
and he feared that  father and son had  
closed in deadly conflict4  ,he hurried 
down the  street1 and made all haste    
toward the parsonage4          ,,chapter
 ,,xv4    ,when ,parson ,weaver left    
,mr4 ,bright's house he went directly   
home4  ,dodd was there before him1 and  
when the elder arrived he found the  boy

 and his mother together1 both          
apparently indignant and excited4    ,to
 think that he should have struck you   
over the head with a stick1  exclaimed  
,mrs4 ,weaver1 and then should have the 
face to come here and  trump up a story 
about your running away6  ,i always did 
more than half  suspect that man of     
lying1 and ,i have found him out now6   
,why1 what is this8 inquired the parson1
 with a puzzled look4    ,mr4 ,bright   
has been striking ',dodd' over the head 
with a stick1  explained ,mrs4 ,weaver2 
just see where he hit him6  ,she pushed 
the  hair back off her son's forehead as
 she spoke1 and revealed a long red     
streak1 made1 apparently1 by a blow from
 some solid substance4    ,elder ,weaver
 was dumbfounded4  ,tell me all about   
this affair1 he  demanded of ,dodd1 as  
he led the way to another room1 leaving 
,mrs4  ,weaver to go on with her        
housework4    ,all there is of it1      
answered ,dodd1 ,old ,bright gave me    
some of his  lip because ,i couldn't do 

an example1 and when ,i tried to explain
 he  got mad and hit me over the head   
with a club1 and so ,i got up and left4 
,is that the actual truth of the matter8
 asked the elder1 anxiously4    ,you    
don't think ,i'd lie about a thing like 
that1 do you8 said ,dodd4  ,you can see 
where he hit me1 he proceeded1 himself  
revealing the welt  on his forehead4    
,this mark was too much for the good    
parson4  ,he might have doubted  ,dodd's
 word1 but there was no disputing the   
mark4    ,now a welt raised by a teacher
 on the body of a child will drive that 
child's parents to madness quicker than 
anything that ,i know of4  ,the  elder  
grew very angry1 and resolved to see the
 end of this as soon as  possible4      
,calling a younger member of the        
household to him he  whispered in his   
ear3    ,run up to ,prof4 ,bright's as  
fast as you can1 and tell him to come   
down  here as quick as possible4  ,he   
would bring ,dodd and his teacher face  
to face1 and then see4    ,it was this  

messenger that had brought the teacher  
to the parsonage on  the double-quick4  
,dodd saw his little brother shoot out  
of the door1 and he was in a  worse     
dilemma than ever4  ,whether to run1 or 
to stay and face it out2  to lie some   
more1 or to confess the lie he had      
already told2 these were  the things he 
grew more and more anxious about every  
minute4  ,but  presently he caught sight
 of his teacher hurrying down the       
street1 and  almost before he knew it he
 said3    ,it's all a lie ,i've been    
giving you1 old man6  ,bright never hit 
me a  lick6    ,but the mark6 almost    
shrieked the parson4    ,i done it      
myself1 explained ,dodd1 laconically1 to
 give you and the  old woman a stand off
 with6    ,it was just as ,dodd said    
this that ,mr4 ,bright opened the door  
and  entered the room4  ,dodd was seated
 near one corner1 and his father1       
having just heard from the boy's own    
lips a full confession of his  wholesale
 lying1 began raving like a maniac4  ,he

 swung his arms wildly1  weeping and    
shouting as he strode about the room3   
,my son6 my son6  ,would to ,god that   
you had filled an early grave1 or  that 
,i had died for thee6  ,o1 my son6 my   
son6 and uttering such  lamentations he 
continued to rave4    ,why1 what is     
this8 exclaimed ,mr4 ,bright1 rather at 
a loss to know  just what to say or do4 
,o professor1 almost yelled the parson1 
my boy has lied to me6 lied  to me66    
lied to me666 and again he paced the    
room and tore his hair4    ,coming      
around again to where ,mr4 ,bright      
stood1 he went on3 ,he told me  that you
 struck him with a club1 and showed me a
 mark on his head where  he said you had
 hit him1 and then1 when ,i sent for    
you1 and he saw you  coming1 he         
confessed that it was all a lie6 a lie66
 a lie666  ,o1 my  ,god1 my boy6 my     
lost1 my ruined boy6  ,a liar6 he       
shrieked again4  ,in  hell they shall   
lift up their eyes in torm--    ,stop6  
commanded ,mr4 ,bright1 confronting the 

almost lunatic parson2  stop raving and 
sit down1 and let us talk about this    
business like  sensible people1 and he  
led ,mr4 ,weaver to a chair as he spoke4
    ,now ',dodd1' said ,mr4 ,bright1    
speaking to the boy for the first time  
since he had called him back in the     
school room1 tell me about this4        
,dodd hesitated a minute1 eyeing his    
teacher defiantly1 and finally          
grumbled3    ,i have not got anything to
 tell4    ,at this the parson came very 
near going off into another paroxysm1   
but  a look from ,mr4 ,bright checked   
him1 and be sank back into his chair1   
almost in collapse4    ,then ,mr4       
,bright spoke1 directing all his        
attention to ,dodd4    ,my boy1 he said1
 it is useless for either of us to go   
over what has  been said and done in the
 last hour or two4  ,i need not tell1   
nor need  ,i ask you to tell1 how       
thoroughly outrageous your conduct has  
been4  ,but ,i want to say this to you  
right here3 ,i want you to steady       

yourself  right down as soon as you can 
and get to thinking reasonably about    
this  matter4  ,there is only one thing 
that ,i am afraid of in this affair1    
and that is that it will result in great
 loss to you1 if you are not  careful4  
,you have insulted your fellow students1
 you have defied the  reasonable        
authority of the school1 and you have   
lied to your parents4  ,i don't care    
anything about what you have done to me1
 or said about  me--let that go2 but ,i 
do care about the other things1 and ,i  
am anxious  to have you make them right 
as soon as possible1 before it is too   
late4    ,you know1 good people1 that   
when a bone is broken1 the thing that   
needs  to be done is to set it as soon  
as possible2 if it is left out of place 
very long1 it is ten times as hard to   
put it right again as it would  have    
been at first1 and1 even if set at last1
 it is apt to grow  together            
imperfectly1 or perhaps make a crooked  
limb ever after4  ,the  sooner a fault  

is redressed1 the better for all parties
 to it4    ,so now ,i have this to say  
to you1 ,mr4 ,bright went on3    ,i     
don't want you to drop out of school on 
account of this occurrence4  ,this is   
what you are in danger of doing1 and it 
is the very thing you  ought not to do4 
,you have been doing well in your work  
for a good  while now1 and you can't    
afford to let this affair break you off4
    ,well1 ,i guess it won't hurt       
anybody but myself1 and that is my own  
business1 said ,dodd sulkily4    ,off1  
away off as yet4  ,drawn1 but unwilling 
to come4  ,seeing1 knowing  what he     
should do1 but1 ruled by some rebellious
 devil1 persistently  turning away and  
doing the other thing4  ,it is the way  
of perverse  human nature4  ,call it    
total depravity1 original sin1          
infirmity1  the natural man1 ,i don't   
care what1 only this--recognize the     
condition and deal with it1 when you    
come squarely up against it1 so  that it
 will not ruin its victim4    ,the very 

thing ,i am fearing1 returned ,mr4      
,bright4  ,in one sense it  is nobody's 
business but your own what becomes of   
you2 in another  sense1 it is the       
business of a great many4  ,young man1  
,i tell you again  to get out of your   
present defiant mood as soon as you can4
  ,i know  that your life for the past  
few months has had more of genuine      
enjoyment for you than you have         
experienced for years previous to this  
time4  ,i don't say this boastfully1 ,i 
say it thankfully4  ,and what ,i am     
anxious for is to have you keep going in
 the same way4  ,just think it  over1   
and see what there is before you4  ,on  
the one hand1 a return to  your place in
 school1 and with that a continuation of
 all that you have  so much cared for2  
on the other hand--but ,i leave that for
 you to think  out4  ,there are two ways
 right here1 and you must choose which  
one you  will take4    ,well1 what have 
,i got to do if ,i go back8 asked ,dodd1
 yielding ever  so little4    ,you must 

apologize to the school for your conduct
 and pledge to your  fellow students    
your word of honor that hereafter you   
will behave like  a gentleman4    ,dodd 
gave his head an angry toss and was     
about to speak when the  parson sprang  
to his feet1 and1 rushing across the    
room1 shouted3    ,he shall do it1 or ,i
 will disown him1 and he shall never    
enter my  house again1 but shall be--   
,sit down1 sir6 exclaimed ,mr4 ,bright1 
almost forcing the distracted  parson   
into his chair4  ,mr4 ,weaver sat down  
and was silent4    ,mr4 ,bright         
proceeded3    ,so now1 my boy1 here it  
is for you to choose1 and you must use  
your  own judgment about it4  ,but ,dodd
 looked down and said nothing4    ,it   
was a critical moment4  ,a soul was at  
stake1 and fiends and angels  were      
striving together for it4  ,mr4 ,bright 
was the captain of the  heavenly host1  
and devoutly he stood1 waiting the      
issue4    ,there are no rules laid down 
in the machine guide books that lead up 

to  this high estate1 nor does the      
machine manager care so much for        
marshaling angelic forces as he does    
about controlling the election of  a    
member of the board from the --th ward4 
,as ,mr4 ,bright spoke his last words a 
silence fell upon the group4  ,the      
father sat with his hands over his face1
 ,dodd gazed at the carpet1  and the    
school teacher bowed his head           
reverently4  ,for nearly a minute  this 
impressive calm brooded over all4  ,then
 ,mr4 ,bright felt in his  soul that the
 tide was turned in his favor4  ,he     
advanced towards ,dodd  and extended his
 hand4    ,come6 he said4    ,the boy   
did not raise his eyes1 but he did lift 
his hand1 just a  little--only a        
little--and ,mr4 ,bright grasped it with
 all the fervor of  his thankful soul4  
,he drew ,dodd towards him1 and he      
arose1  hesitatingly4  ,they walked out 
of the room hand in hand1 nor did they  
break their clasp till they reached the 
school-room4  ,when people are  too weak

 or too timid to go alone they musk be  
led2 yes1 sometimes they  must be       
carried6  ,but1 led or carried1 the     
point always to keep in mind  is this1  
that the nearly dead are to be made     
alive again1 the lost are  to be found4 
,and this is the test that must be set  
over against all systems and            
institutions that have to deal with     
unformed characters4  ,the  everlasting 
question must be put again and again1   
does this1 that or  the other save1     
find1 restore1 or benefit the           
individuals that come  under its        
influence8  ,whatever does this1 is     
good2 whatever fails to do  this is not 
good4  ,it is fair to ask what the      
machine does in this  regard6           
,,chapter ,,xvi4    ,it was a trying    
time for both ,dodd and ,mr4 ,bright as 
they walked  together1 hand in hand1    
towards the school-house4  ,the trouble 
was that  neither of them could say     
anything4  ,mr4 ,bright felt that words 
might  only mar the matter1 and ,dodd   

was too busy thinking of what was just  
before him1 to say a word4  ,the master 
realized the situation1 and  counted    
their steps1 almost1 as they walked     
along4    ,presently he felt ,dodd's    
hand working nervously in his own1 as if
 to  break their clasp4  ,his heart     
sank1 but1 inspired by that same power  
which had so often come to him in an    
emergency1 he said3    ,what is it      
',dodd'8    ,i can't apologize1 returned
 the boy2 ,i don't know what to say1 and
  his lips trembled as he spoke1 while  
tears welled from his eyes4    ,how many
 things there are that interpose between
 us and our duty6  ,you  have found it  
so in your own experience1 haven't you1 
my friend8    ,say that you did wrong   
this morning2 that you are sorry for    
what you  did2 that you apologize for   
your action1 and that you pledge your   
word  of honor to your fellows that you 
will be a gentleman in school in        
future1 said ,mr4 ,bright4    ,the      
nervousness was no longer in the hand1  

and both ,dodd and ,mr4  ,bright felt   
that they were about to win in the      
strife4  ,they quickened  their steps1  
and were shortly in the school room4    
,but there was a trial yet1 and one that
 ,i fear would have been  insurmountable
 for a good many of us1 brave men and   
women though we  think we are4    ,as   
teacher and pupil entered the room they 
discovered the three members  of the    
board of education seated upon the      
platform4  ,one of the number  had heard
 the story told by the boy in the       
postoffice1 and had hastened  to make up
 his mind that ,dodd should be expelled 
from school4  ,he  hurried to see the   
other members1 and for the first time   
since ,mr4  ,bright had been in charge  
of the ,emburg school1 this educational 
triumvirate appeared1 in a body1 in his 
school room4  ,their presence  was      
exceedingly annoying1 just at this      
moment--the very time when they  should 
have kept their hands off4  ,but this is
 apt to be the way with  boards of      

education in towns of the ,emburg       
stripe4    ,i ought to take room1 just  
here1 too1 to say that the president of 
the  board was really glad that an issue
 had come1 and that they could now  rid 
the school of ,parson ,weaver's boy4    
,the fact is1 this man was  deacon in a 
church of a denomination other than that
 to which the  parson belonged1 and the 
rivalry between the two sects had been  
brisk1  not to say thoroughly bitter and
 almost mean1 for a long time4          
,anything that would disgrace the family
 of the pastor of the opposing  church  
would weaken the influence of the church
 itself1 and the same  would redound to 
the glory of the church in which the    
deacon  officiated4  ,i grant that this 
is a side issue1 but side issues are    
often of more moment1 in cases like     
this1 than are main issues4    ,as ,dodd
 and ,mr4 ,bright came in1 the deacon   
rose to meet them4  ,the  school was    
already in order1 and ,dodd went on to  
his seat4  ,mr4  ,bright turned to his  

own desk to meet the advancing president
 of the  board4    ,can we have a word  
with you1 before school takes up8 said  
the deacon1  drawing down the corners of
 his mouth and looking particularly     
pious  and exceedingly virtuous1 as he  
thought4    ,wait a few minutes1 replied
 ,mr4 ,bright1 crowding past the man in 
the  effort to reach his desk4    ,but  
we prefer to speak to you now1 urged the
 president4  ,the matter  is very       
pressing4    ,i will attend to it       
presently1 answered ,mr4 ,bright1 and   
then1  ignoring the dignitary who       
addressed him1 he turned to the school  
and  said3    ,before we begin the      
regular work of the afternoon1 ',dodd'  
,weaver has a  word to say4    ,a deep  
silence fell upon the school at these   
words4  ,the pupils all  seemed to feel 
that they stood in the presence of a    
great strife4  ,one  naturally holds his
 breath under such circumstances4       
,then ,dodd stood up in his place1 and  
the latent manhood1 that had  long lain 

dormant within him1 asserted itself4    
,in a clear though  somewhat subdued    
voice1 he said3    ,i want to apologize 
for what ,i did this morning1 and ,i    
pledge you my  word of honor that       
hereafter1 so long as ,i am a member of 
this school1  ,i will behave myself4    
,his voice trembled somewhat towards the
 close1 but he went bravely  through to 
the end1 and then sat down4    ,then    
,mr4 ,bright bowed his head1 and said3  
,our ,father in heaven1 whose weak and  
erring children we all are1 bless  the  
boy whose confession we have just heard1
 and help him to keep his  word of honor
 like a man4  ,and help us all1 in all  
our strifes with  evil and with wrong1  
that we may come out of them better1 and
 stronger1  and purer1 even as our      
,master was made perfect through        
suffering1  ,amen4 ,that was all6       
,perhaps there were dry eyes in the room
 just then4  ,if so1 they did not       
appear1    ,after a pause of an instant1
 ,mr4 ,bright said3    ,you may go on   

with your work1 and the pupils turned to
 their books  again4    ,in five minutes
 more the hum of the busy school room   
was as if nothing  uncommon had         
happened1 and classes were reciting as  
usual4    ,the deacon and his           
fellow-members sat upon the platform    
till recess1  listening to recitations1 
and then left2 the president remarking  
to the  teacher as they went out1 that  
they thought the school was doing very  
well6    ,dodd and ,mr4 ,bright walked  
home together after school was out4     
,where do you suppose ,i hid8 asked     
,dodd1 as they walked along4    ,i have 
no idea1 returned ,mr4 ,bright4    ,i   
ran down cellar1 and1 crawled part way  
up the airshaft back of the  furnace1   
said ,dodd4  ,and that was the last that
 was ever said about  the affair by     
either teacher or pupil4                
,,chapter ,,xvii4    ,for a few months  
after the event just narrated ,dodd went
 to school to  ,mr4 ,bright1 and during 
the whole time he deported himself as a 

good and  faithful student should4  ,but
 with the next meeting of the           
,conference1  ,parson ,weaver was       
shifted again1 and with him went the    
hero of this  story4  7,i think ,dodd   
may justly be called a hero after so    
bravely  doing what he did in the       
presence of the school and the board of 
education1 as just told47  ,mr4 ,bright 
also left ,emburg the following  year1  
and so he and ,dodd drifted apart1 as   
people are all the time  doing in this  
wide1 wide world4    ,the parson had now
 been so long in the service that he was
 promoted to  a city pastorate1 at this 
turn of the ecclesiastical wheel of     
fortune1  and so it fell out that ,dodd 
went to the city to live4  ,a more      
unfortunate thing could hardly have     
happened to him4    ,yet his lot was    
such as is common to most boys who go   
from country to  city life4  ,they drift
 into the town where everything is new1 
strange  and rare to them1 just at that 
age when they are the most curious1 the 

most on fire with new-born and wholly   
untamed passions1 and the least  able to
 resist temptation4  ,the glitter and   
tinsel of city life have  thus a charm  
for them which falls powerless upon     
young men who have  been familiar with  
such sights from their youth up1 and the
 ignis  fatuus of gilded pleasures lures
 them into the quagmires of sin before  
they are aware1 where hosts of them sink
 down to death in the  quicksands of a  
fast life4  ,dodd was not an uncommon   
boy4  ,when he  went to the city1 he did
 as hosts have done before him1 and as  
hosts  will continue to do4  ,i suppose 
,god knows why6    ,yet the young man   
did not go all at once into by and      
forbidden paths4  ,few folks do4        
,neither do they come out of such ways  
by one great leap4  ,there are those who
 preach a different doctrine4    ,either
 ,dodd or his father made a fatal       
mistake1 too1 on going to  town4        
,neither of them arranged to have the   
boy get to work1 as soon as  he entered 

his new life4  ,the elder thought his   
son was getting large  enough to look   
out for himself1 and ,dodd waited awhile
 to look  around4  ,so1 between the two1
 the cup of salvation that the boy      
should  have quaffed1 fell1 and was     
broken4    ,dodd drifted about the town 
for many days1 seeing what he could see4
  ,his memory of ,mr4 ,bright was still 
fresh and nourishing1 and it often  held
 him from wrong1 where his natural      
inclination would have carried  him     
clear over the line that separates evil 
from good4  ,an iron1 well  heated1 will
 hold its heat long after it is taken   
out of the fire4  ,it  grows cold1      
though1 after a while4    ,so the boy   
began to circle about in the outer edge 
of the whirlpool  that sucks in its     
victims so relentlessly and             
remorselessly1 always1 in  the city4    
,i wish ,i did not have to tell the tale
 of still another descent into          
,avernus1 of this boy of the checkered  
career4  ,but ,i have started out  to   

paint the picture exactly as it is1 and 
,i dip my brush in black  again with a  
sigh4  ,you have to do the same thing in
 telling1 even to  yourself1 the story  
of yourself1 don't you1 my reader whose 
blood has  iron in it1 and whose pulses 
beat fast8  ,i am not writing of a      
sluggish-veined person1 nor for people  
of that complexion1 good people  though 
they are4    ,dodd had never been to the
 theatre4  ,he was curious to go1 and   
now  that he came within reach of this  
class of amusements he was all  anxiety 
to gratify his desire in this direction4
  ,he said nothing to  his father or his
 mother about this1 however4  ,indeed1  
it would have  availed little if he had2
 that is1 as these amusements were      
always  looked upon by the parson and   
his good wife4  ,they would have        
contented  themselves by anathematizing 
the play-house and forbidding ,dodd     
attendance at such places2 probably     
ending up their dissertation by         
declaring to the boy that it was his    

natural heart1 which is enmity  against 
,god1 that led him to desire such sinful
 diversions4    ,so1 one night ,dodd    
went alone to the theatre4    ,truth to 
tell1 and to his credit be it said1 he  
chose a reputable place  for his maiden 
visit4  ,the play was ,london           
,assurance4  ,it was well  done1 and the
 boy1 who really possessed much innate  
dramatic genius1  enjoyed the           
performance greatly4  ,he felt ill at   
ease1 however1 while  in the place1 and 
went very quietly to bed when he reached
 home4  ,indeed1 as he lay awake for an 
hour or two after retiring1 unable to   
sleep because of the vivid visions of   
the play that his highly wrought        
imagination and memory represented to   
his mental eyes1 he resolved that  he   
would never again go to see a play1 but 
would stop with a single  taste of the  
pleasure4  ,having made this resolve1 be
 went to sleep  content4  ,how easy it  
is to make good resolutions1 and to be  
content  and satisfied in them when out 

of the reach of temptation4    ,but the 
next day1 as he went about the city1 he 
saw ,othello billed  for that evening4  
,he was restless in an instant4  ,he    
talked the matter  over with himself    
something as follows1 considering       
whether or not he  should go and see the
 ,moor of ,venice3    ',dodd1' you are a
 fellow who cannot rest contented until 
you have seen  what there is to see in  
the line of plays upon the stage4       
,there are  two kinds of dramas--tragedy
 and comedy4  ,you saw comedy last      
night4  ,go and see tragedy tonight and 
that will cover the whole field4  ,you  
will then have seen it all and will be  
satisfied4    ,so that night1 ,tuesday  
evening1 he went to see the tragedy4    
,don't ask  about his resolve of the    
night before2 just ask how you yourself 
have  done scores of times1 under       
similar circumstances1 when you have    
sworn  off1 but when the trial came1    
have concluded not to count that time6  
,dodd enjoyed ,othello as much as he did

 ,london ,assurance4  ,but  that night  
he pledged himself again not to pursue  
the pleasure further1  as he had now    
seen it all4  ,the next day1 however1 he
 found ,uncle  ,tom's ,cabin billed4    
,now even ministers went to see this    
play1 the  bills said4  ,dodd saw       
,topsy1 ,eva1 ,marks1 and ,uncle ,tom   
that  night6    ,thursday he found ,ten 
,nights in a ,bar-,room billed4  ,he    
knew the  story1 and was anxious to see 
the characters in it upon the stage4    
,he  saw them4    ,friday1 his friend   
,john ,oller1 from ,emburg1 was in town1
 and ,dodd  confessed to him that he had
 been four times to the theatre4  ,john 
said3    ,well1 ',dodd1' ,i never went1 
and ,i want to go4  ,come and go with me
  to-night4  ,the boys followed ,marble 
,heart through to the end that  evening4
    ,saturday they went down town       
together1 and ,zoe1 the ,octoroon ,girl1
  was on for matinee4  ,they took it in4
  ,saturday night was set for  ,hamlet1 
and that melancholy ,dane died in their 

presence before the  city clock rang in 
the ,sabbath morning4    ,here is the   
story for you1 good people4  ,seven     
times to the theatre in  one week1 for a
 boy who had been to such a place but   
seven times in all  his life4  ,it is   
the way of human nature4  ,i suppose    
that when ,adam and  ,eve really got to 
eating the forbidden apples1 they ate1  
and ate1 and  ate4  ,at least1 this     
quality has been transmitted to their   
descendants4    ,now1 the bad thing     
about this affair1 was not that ,dodd   
had been to  the play-house seven times1
 but that he had been there             
clandestinely4  ,when a person begins to
 sneak about anything1 he is on the down
 grade  to perdition1 and the brakes are
 all off4    ,the result of this excess 
of ,dodd's was a still further          
dissipation4  ,it is usually that way4  
,the theatre soon had a fascination for 
him  that he could not withstand4  ,he  
went whenever he could get money  enough
 to buy a ticket4  ,after awhile he     

began to frequent places of  amusement  
of a low grade4  ,the variety           
performance attracted him1 and  he      
became an habitual attendant at such    
places4  ,here he formed  acquaintances 
and made friendships that were not to   
his advantage1 to  say the best thing   
that can be said of them2 and with these
 companions  he drifted down the descent
 he had started on so unthinkingly4     
,here1  also1 he learned to drink1 a    
vice which he had heretofore escaped4   
,so he kept on1 down1 and down4  ,he    
needed money for the gratification  of  
his desires1 and to procure it he began 
to venture a little now and  then on    
some gaming device4  ,he was cautious   
and shrewd1 and his early  investments  
were fortunate4  ,he won small sums at  
various times1 and  was elated with his 
success4  ,he loitered much about the   
bucket shop1  and now and then took a   
deal as some friend gave him a pointer4 
,he  was fortunate here1 also1 and even 
though so young1 his vivid  imagination 

began to picture the fortune he should  
some day make in  this way4  ,he        
suddenly dropped his country ways1      
dressed flashily1 and  took on1 with    
marvelous aptitude1 the customs and     
manners of  metropolitan life4    ,and  
still he kept his own counsel4  ,the    
great gulf fixed between  himself and   
his parents grew wider and wider4  ,it  
was through this gap  that the devils   
entered in and took possession of his   
soul4    ,the ,book has it that wicked  
men wax worse and worse4  ,it was so    
with  ,dodd4  ,his love of liquor grew  
upon him with wonderful rapidity4  ,he  
began drinking to excess1 his eyes      
became bloodshot1 his hand became       
unsteady1 and his step halted4    ,but  
the better part of the young man        
rebelled at this retrogression4  ,he    
passed many an agonizing night alone1   
pledging himself to stop2  hoping1      
longing for his true life of a few      
months before1 and cursing  his present 
condition4  ,the ,other ,fellow was     

faithful to him1 too1  calling loudly to
 him to turn about1 to go the other way1
 to be  converted4    ,but as is usual  
in such cases1 after a night of such    
agony he would  take one drink in the   
morning1 just to steady his nerves down1
 and one  being taken1 the rest followed
 in course through the day1 as they had 
done the day before1 and the day before 
that4  ,he was drunk a good  share of   
the time4    ,it happened one night as  
he was going home1 or rather as he was  
trying  to go home1 being in a very     
mellow condition1 that is1 he stackered 
whiles--that he was accosted by a polite
 and pleasant voiced1 young  gentleman1 
who took his arm kindly and walked with 
him several blocks4  ,as they walked he 
told ,dodd that he was on his way to    
attend a  revival meeting1 and asked him
 to go along4  ,just then ,dodd took a  
bicker1 and in the lurch1 he knocked a  
book out from under the arm of  his     
companion4  ,it was a ,bagster ,bible6  
,but the two went on together to the    

meeting4  ,they went well to the  front 
of the congregation1 the guide steadying
 the wavering steps of  the man he was  
leading4  ,dodd sat down1 and after a   
brief rest began  to come to himself1   
and to realize where he was4  ,he hung  
his head for  shame1 and wept as the    
service progressed4  ,he was weak1      
unnerved1 a  wreck4  ,he looked at his  
shattered self1 and groaned in spirit   
over the  ruin that he saw4  ,he longed 
to break away from the terrible bondage 
that held him in its thrall4  ,he cried 
out in spirit1 in an agony1 for  help in
 this time of his great need4    ,the   
sermon came on4  ,the minister seemed to
 ,dodd to be talking  straight at him4  
7,indeed1 the gentleman had observed his
 entrance to  the church1 and frequently
 had him in mind as he made this point  
or  that1 in his remarks47  ,under the  
enthusiastic eloquence of this man      
,dodd's anguish increased till he was   
almost in a frenzy4  ,it was when  he   
had reached this point that the speaker 

uttered the following words3    ,young  
man1 whoever you are1 no matter how     
cursed with sin or polluted  with       
iniquity you may be1 put your trust in  
,jesus and all your sins  will be       
blotted out4  ,are you a drunkard1 with 
an appetite for drink  that is gnawing  
your life away8  ,throw yourself into   
the arms of ,jesus1  and he will take   
away your appetite for strong drink and 
give you  strength to overcome all the  
temptations of your former life4  ,let  
the  light of ,jesus once shine into    
your soul1 and neither cloud nor storm  
shall ever enter there again4  ,all will
 be brightness and purity4  ,old  things
 will have passed away1 and all things  
will become new4  ,i offer  you this    
salvation to-night1 ,o1 weary1 sin-sick 
soul4  ,take it1 ,i  beseech of you4    
,let the ,sun of ,righteousness break in
 upon you at this  hour1 and never will 
you be in darkness again4    ,the man   
glowed under his theme1 and his audience
 warmed with his  impulsive appeal4     

,dodd's soul grew hopeful4  ,all these  
things  promised were the very things he
 was longing for4  ,he had pledged      
himself time and again to stop wrong    
doing1 and had broken his word in  every
 case4  ,he hated himself for this1 and 
he stretched out his hands  for         
salvation from his miserable estate4    
,here1 help was offered4    ,why should 
he not take it8    ,and then the great  
congregation arose with a sound as of a 
rushing1  mighty wind1 and all sang     
together1 with an effect that must be   
seen to  be realized1 ,just as ,i am1   
without one plea1 etc4    ,you know what
 followed1 do you not1 ladies and       
gentlemen8  ,dodd  ,weaver indulged a   
hope before he left the church4         
,,chapter ,,xviii4    ,if it were not   
for clouds and storms what a sunshiny   
world this would  be1 to be sure6  ,but 
there are clouds and storms everywhere  
that ,i know  anything about4  ,there   
are legends of lands of perpetual       
sunshine1 ,i  know4  ,i have visited    

such climates4  ,i have found clouds and
 storms  there also4  ,the natives have 
told me that such were exceptional4     
,doubtless they were1 but the clouds    
shut out the sunshine there1 just  the  
same as they do elsewhere1 and ,i took a
 terrible cold once1 one  that came near
 being the death of me1 from going off  
without an  umbrella1 in a country where
 ,i was positively assured it never     
rained--at least1 not at that season of 
the year4    ,so the result of all this 
is that ,i have learned to distrust the 
tales  of eternal fair weather in any   
spot on all this green earth1 no matter 
how strongly they may be backed up by   
the affidavits of good1  well-meaning1  
and otherwise truthful men and women4   
,it is so easy to state an opinion that 
is not based upon a sufficient  number  
of facts to warrant its assertion4      
,what has happened to me in the matter  
of sunshine and storm1 in this          
weather-beaten world1 happened to ,dodd 
,weaver in his religious  experience4   

,he started out boldly in his new life4 
,he hoped and trusted that he  had      
entered into a physical1 mental1 and    
spiritual condition in which  all that  
he had been he might not be2 all that he
 should be he might  become2 all that he
 ought to hate he would hate2 all that  
he ought to  love he would cherish4  ,he
 longed to believe and he tried to      
believe1  that he had entered into that 
land of perpetual sunshine which had    
been  promised him by the minister and  
his friend4  ,he hoped1 and really      
expected1 to dwell there henceforth1    
beyond the reach of clouds1 and  storms1
 and tornadoes4    ,but everybody knows 
that there were no good grounds for his 
expecting  such continuous1 perpetual1  
and unbroken fair weather in his        
formerly  storm-swept sky4  ,the        
question strikes one1 then1 why should  
he have  been promised this1 and why led
 to hope for and expect it8  ,see what  
came of this too generous inducement    
held out to an anxious soul4    ,for    

some days1 while ,dodd's newly developed
 fervor ran high1 he lived  in the      
blessed light4  ,for this light is      
blessed1 and it shines with a  divine   
warmth into the souls that are open to  
receive it4  ,the fact  remains1        
however1 that clouds and storms--but ,i 
need not trace the  figure further2 you 
all know about it4  ,so1 almost before  
the young man  was aware1 he was under a
 cloud4  ,it happened on this wise3     
,for many weeks he had been drinking    
freely and both smoking and chewing     
tobacco to excess4  ,the first thing he 
did1 after his hopeful  conversion1 was 
to quit all these stimulants at once4   
,his intense  religious zeal held him up
 for a few days1 but at the end of that 
time  his strongly formed appetites     
assorted themselves4  ,he could scarcely
  sleep1 so hungry was he for a chew1 or
 a smoke1 or a drink6  ,these were  the 
weaknesses that had driven him to seek  
for help through the  consolations of   
religion4  ,he had been promised this   

help1 and in no  equivocal terms either4
  ,he had been told1 even from the      
pulpit1 that  if he would put his trust 
in the ,lord all these temptations would
  depart from him4  ,he had done this as
 well as he knew how to4  ,he had  at   
least made an honest effort in that     
direction4  ,his lips were  parched for 
liquor1 and his tongue cleaved to the   
roof of his mouth  with a longing for a 
quid of fine-cut4    ,and so the clouds 
overspread ,dodd's sky--clouds of doubt 
and  distrust1 out of whose lurid depths
 leap lightnings that blast like  death6
    ,he doubted1 first of all1 the      
honesty of the men who had promised him 
more than he found himself the possessor
 of4  ,we always begin by  doubting some
 fellow-mortal4  ,as the process        
progresses1 it leads us1  ultimately1 to
 doubt ,god4    ,but these men had meant
 to be honest--there is no doubt about  
that4  ,they had told the young sinner  
of that which they believed would help  
him4  ,they knew1 of course1 that he    

would have trouble with his old  habits1
 after a while4  ,perhaps they hoped    
that he would get over them  somehow4   
,perhaps they did not think very much   
about it4  ,in either  case1 they said  
nothing4  ,the patient was suffering4   
,they gave him  medicine that would     
afford him the quickest relief1 without 
regard to  the permanency of the        
apparent cure4  ,what an amount of such 
doctoring  has been done through the    
ages4  ,stand up in your graves1 you    
armies of  dead men that have thus been 
dealt with1 and nod a yes with your     
grinning skulls6    ,the clouds grew    
thicker4  ,dodd went to his newly formed
 friends and  told them frankly of his  
condition4  ,the minister advised him to
 be  much alone and in prayer4  ,the    
young man told him that there was no    
need of his suffering from such         
appetites1 because1 he himself--the     
young man aforesaid--could keep from    
such evil practices easily enough1  and 
if he could1 ,dodd could4    ,certainly6

    ,dodd acted on the advice of the    
minister1 and went home and shut        
himself up alone in his room to pray4   
,he tried1 but the words seemed  to go  
no higher than his head4  ,did you ever 
think that when the ,master  received   
his severest temptation it was when he  
was alone8  ,let a man  who is tempted  
beware of trying to win a victory shut  
up in a room by  himself4  ,the devil   
has him in a hand to hand fight1 in such
 case1 and  thereby increases several   
fold the probability of winning the     
battle4    ,dodd tried to pray4  ,he    
strove alone1 as in an agony4  ,he      
besought  the power that he had been    
told to invoke1 to take from him the    
horrible thirst that was gnawing within 
him4  ,he wept1 he pleaded1 he  begged4 
,the gnawing kept on4    ,there was once
 one who prayed ,if it be possible1 let 
this cup pass  from me4  ,it did not    
pass4    ,then1 indeed1 the clouds did  
grow dark4  ,dodd's doubts left the     
earth1 and reached even to heaven4  ,he 

not only doubted the men who had  led   
him to the promised relief2 he doubted  
even the power of religious  experience 
to save a tempted man1 and the reality  
of religion itself4    ,from this point 
it is but a step to the supreme doubt of
 all6    ,if only the boy had expected a
 storm1 he might have weathered it4     
,if1  in this hour of his trial1 some   
faithful soul could have lived with     
him1 day and night1 and never left him  
for an hour1 till the storm was  over1  
he might have come through4  ,neither of
 these things happened1  however4    ,he
 struggled on for several days4  ,he    
gave up finally4  ,he came home  one    
night drunk1 almost to the verge of     
insanity4  ,there had been a  cyclone in
 the land of promised eternal sunshine4 
,dodd ,weaver's bark  lay upon its beam 
ends1 and the jagged rocks of infidelity
 pierced its  battered frame4    ,you   
have seen such wrecks by the score1 have
 you not1 good friends8                 
,,chapter ,,xix4    ,and now the victim 

of these adventures was  in a worse case
 than ever4  ,up to this time  neither  
religion nor its lack had played any    
particular part in his being4  ,he had  
been a  bad boy1 truly1 but in his      
former low estate  he had thought little
 of anything that  pertained to another 
world1 or to the future in  this4  ,now 
he disbelieved all things--man1         
immortality1 heaven1 ,god4    ,it is a  
condition which few fail to experience1 
in a greater or less degree4    ,i      
wonder if it is necessary that ,i pause 
here1  just an instant1 and interlard a 
remark  regarding the scene through     
which ,i have just  traced ,dodd        
,weaver4  ,i do so1 in any event4    ,in
 what has been said1 ,i would not have  
it  understood that ,i rail at1 or      
deride1 or  impeach the honesty of the  
men who tried to help  ,dodd out of the 
sad condition into which he  had fallen4
  ,neither would ,i underrate the  value
 of religion1 in such experiences1 nor  
impugn its power to save sinking souls  

from  death4  ,but ,i cannot help       
reiterating the fact  that multitudes of
 young men have drifted on  to the rocks
 of infidelity as ,dodd did1  because   
they have been promised too much by     
religious enthusiasts4    ,there is such
 an experience as genuine  religion1 and
 it is the most blessed estate that a   
soul can aspire to4  ,there is a place  
for prayer  in the divine economy of    
,god's providence4  ,but neither        
religion nor prayer can help a soul     
that is sick unto death with the malady 
of  doubt4  ,dodd was thus              
circumstanced4  ,it  was the zealous    
overstatements1 the ultra  promises1 the
 unwarranted inducements held  out to   
him1 which1 unrealized1 threw him into  
this condition4    ,and then doubt is   
such a breeder of its own  kind6  ,as a 
single bacterium will1 in a few  hours1 
under favorable conditions1 develop     
millions like unto itself1 and poison a 
man's  blood to the last drop1 even so  
doubt grows in  the soul1 when once its 

germs are planted  there1 and its       
noxious growth blights all one's  being1
 bringing death hurriedly1 if its course
  is not stayed4    ,dodd ,weaver was in
 a state of mind  highly favorable to   
the development of unbelief4  ,the false
 promises of his well-meaning friends   
sowed the seed of distrust within him1  
and the  crop was not long in ripening4 
,the fact is1 truth is so loyal to      
itself that it  will not suffer         
distortion1 even for the  apparent      
purpose of doing ,god service4  ,it can 
no  more be swerved than ,god can6      
,if that point is clear1 ,i go on with  
this narrative4    ,but ,dodd had seen  
enough to understand  that if he        
expected to live long he must stop      
short of absolute debauchery1 and he    
rallied  somewhat from the first awful  
overthrow that  came when the clouds    
burst over his head4  ,he  drank more   
moderately1 and was seldom  drunk4  ,he 
returned to his old haunts1  however1   
and kept on in the main as he had       

before4  ,the only difference was that  
he loitered in a  way now where before  
he had rushed along at  top speed4      
,he began1 too1 to look about for       
something  to do4  ,he was anxious for a
 job in a store or  an office1 where be 
could wear good clothes  and not have to
 work hard at manual labor4    ,this is 
a common desire of country boys  who go 
to town to live4    ,the trouble was1   
however1 that he knew  next to nothing  
of business of any kind4  ,was  this the
 fault of his education1 thus far8  ,his
  school education1 ,i mean4  ,i ask the
 question4    ,he finally concluded to  
take a course in a  school that         
advertised to fit a person to  engage in
 any business whatever in three  months1
 without regard to age1 sex1 or         
previous condition4  ,he went to this   
school4    ,i have no quarrel with      
institutions that  make a business of   
fitting young men and  women to engage  
in commercial pursuits4  ,i  know of    
many excellent institutions of this     

kind4  ,but ,i nevertheless submit the  
record of  ,dodd ,weaver in his         
connection with this  college1 so       
called4    ,the man at the head of the  
institution was  a brisk1 nervous sort  
of person1 a shrewd  fellow1 and given  
to much flourishing with a pen1  which  
was to him much mightier than any       
sword4  ,he could whirl off a           
scroll-winged eagle  on a blank sheet of
 foolscap1 in a twinkling--a  royal     
bird1 with a banner in his beak1 on     
which was inscribed ,go to ---- college1
 and  which the king of birds was       
bearing towards  the sun for advertising
 purposes4  ,he could  also add a column
 of figures with wonderful  rapidity1   
and occasional accuracy6  ,he was a     
believer in lightning methods and       
processes  everywhere4  ,his own        
education had been  wrought out on that 
plan4  ,he was seeking a  fortune by the
 same route4  ,he drew crowds  of boys  
into his school4  ,it was through them  
he made his money4    ,dodd had much    

skill with a pen1 as will  be remembered
 by his sketching ,mr4 ,bright's  face  
on the board one afternoon4  ,he took to
  the practice in writing with some     
alacrity1 but  for the rest of the work 
he soon did as the  others did--studied 
little1 and in lieu of a  recitation    
listened to a long and disjointed talk  
by  the professor4  ,he was held to no  
account  for his work1 and whether it   
was right or  wrong made little         
difference4  ,he found that  his teacher
 would profess to know things of  which 
he knew he was ignorant1 and1 in a      
word1 that there was an air of shoddy1  
not to  say dishonesty1 about the whole 
institution4    ,this did not trouble   
him greatly1 however4  ,it was only in  
keeping with what he  conceived he had  
finally discovered the whole  world to  
be--a gigantic sham--and he  mentally   
remarked to himself ,i told you so1 and 
drew an unusually large spread-eagle    
upon a  fresh sheet of foolscap4    ,he 
stayed three months in the school and   

then graduated4  ,his diploma was handed
 to  him by a venerable gentleman who   
delighted  in the appellation president 
of the board1  while an orchestra1      
composed of young ladies  of the school1
 all of whom were learning to  play the 
violin1 by the short method1  discoursed
 most execrable music from an           
improvised platform that had been built 
in the  church1 for the occasion4  ,six 
other pupils  came through with ,dodd1  
and their going  out was used as an     
advertisement to lure still  another    
half dozen to fill the places left      
vacant4    ,the young man came forth    
from this  experience more the slave of 
doubt and distrust  than ever4    ,but  
the worst feature of all was that this  
infidelity in ,dodd's soul was poisoning
 his  whole life4  ,honor was to him now
 only an  empty name1 but policy was a  
quality to be  held in high esteem4     
,truth was to be used if  convenient1   
but if a lie would serve a better       
purpose for the moment1 it would be     

brought  into service without hesitation
 or scruple4  ,fortune was his goddess1 
if he did deference to  any unseen      
power2 tricks and chicanery were  to him
 helps to rapid and boundless wealth4   
,let the sharpest win1 and may the devil
 take  the hindermost1 these were the   
tenets in his  creed1 if he had a creed4
    ,armed with such ideas of life1     
,dodd  ,weaver set out to battle with   
the world4  ,he  had also his diploma6  
,,chapter ,,xx4    ,in the course of a  
few weeks ,dodd secured a clerkship that
 was much  to his mind4  ,it was1       
however1 one greatly in advance of his  
ability to  manage1 with his present    
attainments4  ,if he had believed that  
fidelity1 honesty1 and attention to     
business were the prime factors of      
success1 he might have mastered the     
situation1 perhaps4  ,he did not so     
believe4  ,on the contrary1 he held that
 the more he could shirk and get  out   
of1 and still draw his salary1 the      
sharper he was4  ,he acted in           

accordance with his belief4  ,people    
usually do6    ,but business is         
business4  ,dodd found his employer an  
exact man--one  who required service by 
the card4  ,this the young man could    
not1 or  rather would not render4  ,he  
blundered in his work on more than one  
occasion1 and resorted to tricks to     
bolster up his carelessness or          
inefficiency4  ,the result was that     
after a few weeks' service he was       
discharged4  ,he was chagrined1         
mortified1 angry4  ,but he cheeked it   
through1 as the young men of his class  
would say4  ,it is bad business1  this  
cheeking4    ,he loafed about once more1
 as formerly4  ,he took a deal on the   
curbstone occasionally1 or now and then 
ventured a few pieces of silver  upon   
the black or red4  ,he was back in the  
old notch4    ,for more than two years  
,dodd led this reckless1 wasteful       
existence4  ,he was of age now1 and his 
father had felt it his duty to tell him 
that  he must shift for himself4  ,mrs4 

,weaver mildly protested1 but the       
,weaver family was large1 and though the
 ,elder commanded a fair salary1  it    
cost money to live1 and every mouth to  
be fed counted one4    ,so ,dodd took a 
room down town1 and then if the devil   
went to sleep1  sure of his victim1 you 
do not wonder1 do you8    ,yet the great
 majority of young men in large cities  
room down town4    ,details of          
degradation are always revolting4  ,i   
will not trouble you  with what happened
 during these years of exile of this    
young man4  ,his  story is like that of 
thousands in like case4  ,his evil      
habits grew  upon him1 and held him     
tighter and tighter in their thrall4    
,still1 he  dressed well1 went much into
 fashionable society1 and saw much of   
life4  ,he was one of the boys1 and he  
held his place among them by hook or by 
crook4  ,he was never brought to face a 
court on criminal charges4  ,he  may    
never have been guilty of such acts4    
,if not1 is it not remarkable8    ,it   

was when ,dodd was well down the steep  
he was descending that he  chanced1 one 
day1 to meet his old teacher1 ,mr4      
,bright4  ,more than three  years had   
passed since they had seen each other1  
and each had changed  with time4  ,mr4  
,bright had grown not a little gray1 and
 his devotion to  his profession had    
caused the marks of his craft to become 
deeply  seamed in his face4    ,his     
former pupil we have followed1 day after
 day1 and we know well  enough what he  
looked like4    ,the two passed a hearty
 greeting1 ,dodd's disbelief in mankind 
leaving  him for the moment1 consumed by
 the positive integrity of the man whose
  hand he held4  ,each took a searching 
look at the other1 with mental          
reservations in each case1 as thus3     
,dodd3 ,gray--hard worker--not up to    
snuff--square as a brick4    ,mr4       
,bright3 ,flashy clothes--shambling     
gait--a look in the eye that is  not    
direct4    ,these are the things they   
thought4  ,they spoke of other matters4 

,mutual inquiry led to the disclosure of
 the whereabouts of each1 and  what each
 was doing though in this last item     
,dodd drew largely upon  his            
imagination1 informing his teacher very 
indefinitely as to the  calling in which
 he was engaged4  ,mr4 ,bright had moved
 to the city1  having been called to    
take charge of an important educational 
institution located within its corporate
 limits4  ,he had a home of his  own1   
and said he should be glad to see ,dodd 
there4    ,dodd said he would call on   
,mr4 ,bright4  ,he did so4    ,and now  
began one of the most perplexing series 
of circumstances that ,i  have yet had  
occasion to record4  ,dodd came to see  
his teacher1 who  was really anxious to 
have a sober talk with him1 and the two 
spent an  hour together4  ,when they    
separated1 ,dodd had five dollars of    
,mr4  ,bright's money in his pocket6    
,he had struck his former preceptor for 
a loan4  ,i do not say that he had      
deliberately stolen this money4         

,perhaps he meant to pay it back        
sometime2 but he had long been used to  
borrowing1 and the impulse was almost   
irresistible to borrow whenever  he came
 where he could4  ,sometimes he returned
 these loans2 oftener he  did not4  ,his
 sense of right and wrong in such       
matters was not very  keen at this time4
    ,and so he began to sponge off ,mr4 
,bright4  ,he came to visit him         
frequently1 and often left with a dollar
 or two extra after the  interview4     
,at first ,mr4 ,bright did not fully    
realize the depth of degradation  which 
,dodd had reached4  ,he made these small
 loans as he would have  given money to 
a son of his own1 had he had one4  ,he  
talked with the  young man1 and once or 
twice hinted that he feared all was not 
as it  should be4  ,but ,dodd evaded an 
issue1 and so the days went by4    ,but 
one evening these two people met1 and   
the truth stood revealed4  ,dodd was    
drunk4    ,mr4 ,bright knew a good deal 
about human nature1 but he had had no   

experience with the peculiar vice of    
drunkenness4  ,his heart went out       
towards ,dodd1 and1 taking the boy's arm
 in his own1 he led him to his  house4  
,he would care for the prodigal with his
 own hand1 and restore  him if possible4
    ,so he gave him the best chamber1   
and bathed his head1 and watched with   
him till far into the night4  ,the next 
morning they talked it all over4  ,dodd 
was penitent1 even to the extent of     
tears and bitter weeping4  ,he pledged  
,mr4 ,bright that this should be the    
last time2 that he would  reform now4   
,he confessed that for years he had been
 a miserable sinner  in the matter of   
drink1 but declared that now he would   
break off4  ,in a  word1 he did the     
usual thing on such occasions4    ,mr4  
,bright heard his pledges with a        
swelling heart and a thankful soul4  ,he
 fondly hoped that he might save the    
young man yet4  ,you may have had  like 
hopes under similar circumstances1 my   
gentle reader4    ,the scene ended with 

,dodd's leaving ,mr4 ,bright's house in 
the  afternoon of the following day1    
accompanied by any amount of good       
advice and even prayers for his future  
good behavior4  ,he took with him  also 
a ten dollar note which he had borrowed 
from his benefactor1 just  to get a     
start with4          ,,chapter ,,xxi4   
,the wise ,mr4 ,george has remarked that
 by no possibility can one really  use  
up his living in advance4  ,that is1 he 
explains1 it is as  impossible to       
anticipate the products of one's labor1 
and live them up  before they are earned
 as it is to eat to-day the egg that is 
to be  laid to-morrow4    ,i do not     
dispute the egg part of this            
proposition1 but ,i must protest  that  
if it is impossible for a man to        
anticipate the products of his  own     
labor1 and to live them up in advance1  
it is quite possible for him  to        
anticipate the products of what some one
 else has already earned1  and to live  
them up most effectually4  ,the only    

impossibility in the  premise is for    
this some one else ever to get his own  
again4    ,this statement should pass   
for an axiom1 since it needs no proof4  
,you  have had dollars of your own that 
have been appropriated thus1 have you   
not8    ,and of all habits that tend to 
demoralize a man1 this one of dead-beat 
borrowing is the worst4  ,it will sap   
the last germ of manhood out of a  soul 
sooner than anything else ,i know of4   
,it is one of the meanest  vices in     
society1 and one of the most prevalent  
among a certain class  of young men4    
,i will not say that every person who   
asks to borrow money from a friend      
without offering security is a          
dead-beat4  ,such a statement might be  
somewhat wide of the mark4  ,i only     
assert that ,i have always found it  so6
    ,it was not without misgivings that 
,mr4 ,bright advanced ,dodd the ten     
dollars spoken of in the last chapter4  
,but alas1 poor man1 he was yet  blind  
to the fact that whoever thus assists a 

person in the condition  in which ,dodd 
now was does that person more harm than 
good4    ,there is any amount of light  
nonsense current on this point4  ,see   
how  the method worked in this case4    
,dodd really meant to do better when he 
left ,mr4 ,bright's4  ,people in  this  
condition always do mean to do better4  
,he had made pledges to his  friend and 
he hoped to keep them4  ,it takes more  
than hoping to succeed  in such eases1  
however4    ,i would by no means        
intimate that when a drunkard signs the 
pledge he  is always lying and does not 
mean to keep it4  ,on the contrary1 ,i  
think  the great bulk of those who thus 
write their names with a trembling      
hand1 do1 at the time of writing1 really
 mean to keep all that they  promise4   
,but as a rule they change their minds  
when the trial comes1  and ,don't count 
this time6    ,this statement is a sad  
one1 but it is terribly true4  ,there is
 a  reason for it4    ,and the chief    
reason is that these unfortunates1 as   

they are called1  get into the habit of 
being carried when they should walk on  
their own  feet4  ,your drunkard is     
always expecting sympathy1 and help1 and
  upholding4  ,he leans down on you2 he 
lies down on you4  ,he pleads           
misfortune1 disease1 or something1 and  
makes himself out a poor1 weak  victim  
of circumstances4  ,he asks for help1   
and of a kind that most  suits himself4 
,he should not get such4    ,help he    
should have1 but of a kind that will    
make him help himself4  ,because1 when  
such a person is merely helped by       
another he becomes  helpless himself1   
and the last state of that man is worse 
than the  first4    ,it was so with     
,dodd ,weaver4  ,the kind offices of    
,mr4 ,bright had  really wrought him    
harm4  ,he had thus been able to get    
money for some  weeks1 and as he lived  
only for the moment now1 this           
accommodation  kept him in his low mode 
of life4    ,it is the study of a       
lifetime how to deal justly with people 

in his  condition4  ,if you doubt my    
word1 try it4  ,you will be convinced4  
,dodd did intend to do better after     
leaving ,mr4 ,bright's4  ,but he went   
right down town and took a drink to     
brace up on4  ,this also is common4     
,it was two days after this that the    
young man came once more to appeal  to  
his benefactor4  ,he was in trouble     
again1 and according to the law ,i  have
 just noted he came for relief to the   
source from which help had  before come4
  ,there is no record of how long a man 
can thus abuse the  kindness of a       
friend4  ,sometimes death alone ends the
 scene4    ,but ,mr4 ,bright was not a  
man to be trifled with when once he had 
taken  in the situation4  ,he heard     
,dodd's story with disgust4  ,the young 
man  had been drunk again1 and in a     
brawl had struck an antagonist with     
brass knuckles4  ,for this offense he   
said the police were in search of  him1 
and would probably find him4  ,he asked 
,mr4 ,bright to let him have  money to  

pay his fine1 and so keep him out of    
jail4  ,he could not bear  that         
disgrace1 he declared4    ,but ,mr4     
,bright was unmoved4  ,he sat looking at
 ,dodd for a moment in  silence1 and    
then said3    ,not one cent1 young man6 
,but ,i shall have to go to jail1       
faltered ,dodd1 in a broken voice4      
,you may go there1 and stay there1 for  
all of me1 exclaimed ,mr4  ,bright1 in a
 burst of righteous indignation1 as all 
the past years rose  up before him and  
the memory of them floated before his   
vision4  ,i  have given you the last    
cent that ,i ever shall4  ,you deserve  
to go to  jail1 and it is probably the  
best thing that can happen that you     
should4    ,but my mother6 pleaded      
,dodd4    ,it is a fine time for you to 
plead your mother now1 isn't it8 replied
  ,mr4 ,bright4  ,how much you have     
considered her and her feelings in the  
last few years1 he continued4  ,when you
 have been drunk on the  streets2 when  
you have abused the hospitality of a    

gentleman2 when you  have lied to me and
 obtained money from me under false     
pretenses1 then  was the time for you to
 plead for sparing your mother4  ,you   
did nothing  toward that then4  ,i will 
not help you now4    ,mr4 ,bright spoke 
firmly1 and in a straight-forward tone4 
,dodd shrank  under his words as though 
they were lashes on a bare back4  ,but  
once  more he pleaded3    ,i don't know 
who will help me if you don't1 and some 
one must help me1  for ,i can't suffer  
this disgrace4    ,well1 no one shall   
help you if ,i can prevent it1 replied  
,mr4 ,bright4  ,what you need1 young    
man1 is to help yourself4  ,if you      
haven't virtue  enough left to do this1 
you might as well go to jail1 or into   
your  grave--it doesn't make much       
difference which4  ,you are of no manner
 of  use in this world as you are now4  
,you are worse than useless1 you are  a 
dead load to your friends1 your         
acquaintances1 and society4    ,mr4     
,bright laid on tremendously1 now that  

he had begun1 and ,dodd  writhed under  
his strokes4  ,the last flagellation    
left them both out of  breath1 and there
 was silence in the room for some       
minutes4  ,it was ,mr4  ,bright who     
spoke first3    ',dodd1' my boy1 he     
said1 ,i need not tell you how it pains 
me thus to  talk to you1 you for whom ,i
 have striven so hard1 and from whom ,i 
had  hoped for so much4  ,you are       
naturally bright1 but you are fickle by 
nature1 and1 so far1 you have lacked the
 manhood to correct this fault4  ,you   
are the only one who can ever do this4  
,so one else can do it for  you4  ,if   
ever you stand up like a man1 it must be
 on your own feet4  ,i  tried to teach  
you this long ago4  ,i think ,i failed4 
,at least is seems  so now4  ,you did   
stand for a while though1 my boy1 and ,i
 would to ,god  you could do so again4  
,dodd sat in his chair shedding bitter  
tears2 he began feebly3    ,help me this
 once1 he begged1 and before ,god1 ,i   
promise you ,i will  never give you     

cause to be ashamed of me again4        
,keep your pledges to yourself1 returned
 ,mr4 ,bright4  ,i want none of  them4  
,they are of no value whatever4  ,you   
have come to a time now when  you must  
do something more than pledge1 though   
there was a time when  your word was    
good1 and ,i would have taken it1       
unquestioned1 on any  occasion4  ,but   
that time is past4  ,it may come again1 
but the chances  are against it4    ,you
 are making me out a monster1           
interlarded ,dodd1 with an attempt  at  
injured innocence in his voice4    ,and 
that is just what you are1 said ,mr4    
,bright4  ,you have grown out  of all   
semblance to the true type of a man4    
,you are wicked1 deceitful1  weak1      
vacillating1 and untruthful4  ,so long  
as you retain these  qualities there is 
no hope for you4  ,perhaps a punishment 
of a term in  jail may serve to bring   
you to a sense of your condition4  ,if  
it will1  it is the best thing that can 
happen to you4  ,anyhow1 ,i am willing  

to  see it tried4    ,so you will not   
give me money to pay my fine8 groaned   
,dodd4    ,not one cent1 again answered 
,mr4 ,bright1 as he showed the young man
  to the door4          ,,chapter       
,,xxii4    ,as they walked through the  
hall1 however1 ,dodd dragging himself   
along  reluctantly1 a kindlier mood took
 possession of the school teacher4  ,he 
paused1 and1 turning to the young man1  
said3    ,see here4  ,i have a plan that
 has just come to me1 and ,i will give  
you  the benefit of it4  ,i am convinced
 that you will never be any better  than
 you are now if you continue to live in 
this city4  ,your companions  are here1 
and so are your old haunts and          
associations4  ,i will do this  for you4
  ,i will go to your room with you and  
help you get together  whatever clothing
 you have4  ,then ,i will go with you to
 the depot1 and  will buy you a ticket  
to the farthest point from here that ten
 dollars  will take you to4  ,i don't   
want to know where that place is4  ,i   

don't  want ever to see you or hear from
 you again1 unless you are a different  
man4  ,i want to give you one more      
chance to stand on your own feet4  ,that
 is all ,i have to say4  ,you may take  
it or leave it1 as you will4    ,dodd   
hesitated a minute1 and then said3      
,i'll take it4    ,very well1 replied   
,mr4 ,bright1 putting on his coat and   
hat2 ,i am  ready1 and will go with you 
now4    ,i might say good-bye to your   
family1 said ,dodd2 they have been so   
kind to me4    ,i prefer that you should
 not1 replied ,mr4 ,bright4  ,i have no 
desire  to have you know them further4  
,you have forfeited all claim to their  
respect1 or regard1 or courtesy even1   
and if you never redeem yourself1  ,i do
 not care to have them see you again6   
,it was a terrible thrust4  ,it was like
 a sword in the bones to the  recipient 
of the cutting words4  ,dodd reeled     
under them as though  smitten with a    
veritable blade of steel4    ,but they  
were doing good work for this abnormal  

young man4  ,these cuts1  made by the   
sword of truth1 when wielded by the     
hands of ,mr4 ,bright1  laid open to    
,dodd ,weaver the secret recesses of his
 own soul1 and he  saw there such       
foulness as he had never before         
suspected4  ,not one word  had his      
former teacher said to him which was not
 true4  ,his final  refusal to permit   
him to say adieu to his family1 ,dodd   
felt was just  and strictly in          
accordance with his deserts4  ,this     
hurled him down to  where he belonged1  
and made him realize what a wretch1 what
 an outcast1  he was4    ,don't you     
suppose1 good people1 that it would be a
 great deal better1  all around1 if we  
each one got what we really deserve just
 when we  deserve it8  ,but we don't2   
and so we flatter ourselves that because
 the  desert does not come to-day it    
will not come to-morrow1 not next day1  
and we hope it will never come4  ,and so
 we keep on in our wrong ways4  ,the    
book has it3 ,because sentence against a

 wicked work is not  executed speedily1 
therefore the hearts of men are fully   
set in them to  do evil4  ,this was     
written a long time ago1 but it is as   
true to-day  as it ever was4  ,i think  
that even the most confirmed skeptic    
would  admit the truth of the passage4  
,so ,mr4 ,bright went with ,dodd to his 
lodgings1 helped him pack1 and  got him 
to the depot4  ,they escaped the police4
  ,this was not a hard  thing to do4    
,it seldom is1 if one has really been   
doing wrong4    ,here is ten dollars1   
said ,mr4 ,bright to the ticket agent4  
,i want  you to give me a ticket to a   
point the farthest away from the city   
possible for that money4    ,what line8 
inquired the somewhat surprised         
official4    ,i don't know1 and ,i don't
 want to know1 returned ,mr4 ,bright4   
,i want  a ticket such as ,i have       
described1 and ,i want you to tell me   
which  train to take to reach the       
destination1 though ,i don't want to    
know  what the destination is4    ,the  

agent looked puzzled for a minute1 but  
as the bill was a good one1  and other  
passengers were waiting1 he picked out a
 ticket1 stamped it1  and thrust it out 
under the glass1 with the remark3       
,take the train that leaves from the    
other side of the middle platform4      
,mr4 ,bright folded the ticket without  
looking at it1 and taking ,dodd's  arm1 
started for the train1 which was already
 waiting4  ,as they went  along1 ,dodd  
said3    ,let me see where ,i am going  
to1 please6    ,not now1 returned his   
guide1 and they boarded the train4      
,the conductor came in presently1 and to
 him ,mr4 ,bright spoke in a  subdued   
tone4    ,here is a ticket for this     
young man1 he said4  ,i want you to take
  it1 and see to it that he reaches the 
destination that this piece of  paper   
calls for4  ,don't ask me what that is4 
,don't let me know4  ,but  take the     
ticket1 and do as ,i ask4    ,the       
official looked wise for a minute1 then 
took the ticket and passed  on4    ,dodd

 and ,mr4 ,bright sat in the same seat  
in the car till the train  was ready to 
go4  ,not much was said2 for the time of
 words was not  then4  ,but just as the 
bell rang for leaving1 the elder man    
took the  hand of the younger1 and      
clasped it almost passionately4  ,the   
eyes of  the two met4  ,dodd remembered 
the day when they walked to school      
together1 hand in hand4    ,my boy1     
whispered ,mr4 ,bright1 if ever the time
 comes when you can  stand on your own  
feet1 let me hear from you and know of  
your success2  but if you continue in   
the old way1 let the world be as a grave
 to you1  so far as ,i am concerned2 and
 never let me hear from you again4      
,but1  he added1 as he turned away1 ,i  
faintly trust the larger hope4  ,and    
without another word he left the car4   
,he went directly home4  ,it was  many a
 year before he referred again to that  
day4    ,there was a hissing of pent-up 
air as the engineer tried the brakes    
before moving out his train1 then a slow

 motion of starting1 then away  and     
away4    ,dodd ,weaver sank back in his 
seat1 and pulled his cap over his eyes4 
,he did not cast one lingering look     
behind4  ,indeed1 what had he to care   
for1 in all that great city8    ,i      
faintly trust the larger hope1 repeated 
,dodd to himself1 as the  train rushed  
along4  ,he remembered the day when they
 had read the lines  in the reading     
class of ,mr4 ,bright's school4         
,,chapter ,,xxiii4    ,on a ,christmas  
morning1 ten years after the scenes     
recounted in the  last chapter1 ,mr4    
,bright was surprised to receive a      
letter addressed in  ,dodd's well known 
characters4  ,he broke the seal without 
comment1  wondering what story of       
destiny he held in his hand4  ,a thrill 
of joy  suffused him as1 on unfolding   
the sheets of the bulky manuscript1 a   
bill of exchange fell upon the table4   
,it was the most favorable sign  he     
could have desired4  ,it augured all    
that followed4    ,remark 7as reads the 

foot-note in ,scott's bible73 ,the first
 sign of  regeneration in a man who has 
been a dead-beat is the payment of his  
honest debts4    ,mr4 ,bright opened the
 letter and read as follows3      ,new  
,york ,city1 ,december #bb1 #ahh--      
,mr4 ,charles ,bright4    ,dear         
,sir3--,enclosed ,i hand you exchange1  
payable to your order1 to the  amount of
 #bcg4de1 the sum due you for money     
advanced to me years ago1  with legal   
interest on the same4  ,respectfully1   
,d4 ,w4 ,weaver4      ,this was the     
first page of the epistle1 brief1       
business-like1 and to  the point4  ,but 
having thus entered a voucher for his   
manhood1 and1 as  it were1 won the right
 to speak further1 on the second page   
there was a  continuation as follows3   
,beloved ,teacher3    ,what precedes    
will tell you where ,i am4  ,you told me
 the last time ,i  saw you1 that if ever
 ,i redeemed myself1 you would be glad  
to hear from  me4  ,i believe you1 and  
hence ,i write4    ,i can never commit  

to paper all that ,i have to say to you2
 words spoken  face to face can only    
tell what is in my heart2 but neither   
the written  nor the spoken word can    
convey to you a tithe of the gratitude  
,i feel  for all that you have done for 
me4    ,as ,i look back ,i can hardly   
understand how you ever bore with me as 
you  did1 with me who abused you to such
 unbounded lengths4  ,nevertheless1  the
 more ,i fail to understand this1 the   
more thankful ,i am to you4    ,i am    
sure you will care to know something of 
my career in the past ten  years1 and ,i
 briefly relate the principal items of  
interest4    ,and first1 let me say1 ,i 
have entirely quit the use of liquor4   
,from  the day when you left me in the  
car1 limp as a whipped dog1 to this     
very hour1 ,i have not tasted           
intoxicating drink4  ,i mention this    
first1  because a breaking away from    
that habit was the first step toward a  
better life4  ,had ,i not stopped there1
 short off1 ,i know that all hope  of   

further reformation would have been     
vain4  ,a drunkard has nothing1         
absolutely nothing1 on which to build a 
new life1 so long as he  continues to be
 a slave to drink4    ,but with the     
abandonment of this vice1 ,i began to   
change my other  habits1 and by degrees 
,i have gained a mastery over them4  ,it
 has been  a long1 hard fight1 and ,i am
 well aware that there are battles yet  
to  be waged2 but ,i have reached the   
point where ,i have ceased to be afraid 
of myself--of my baser nature4  ,as     
,cardinal ,wolsey says to ,cromwell3 ,i 
know myself now4  ,you remember we used 
to read the lines out of the  old reader
 when ,i went to school to you at       
,emburg4    ,i cannot tell you how much 
,i thank ,god for the help that has come
 to  me4  ,but ,i am forced to say that 
you are entitled to almost equal        
thanks4  ,and1 indeed1 as ,i review the 
past1 ,i know that without you1  even   
the ,god of heaven could not have       
received the gratitude ,i now give      

,him4  ,for you were the means by which 
,i was lead to a point where ,i  could  
receive ,his aid4  ,it is you1          
therefore1 my benefactor and my  noble  
friend1 whom ,i have first to thank4  ,i
 say this in simple justice  to you1 who
 bore with me so long and patiently1 and
 who remained  faithful to me when it   
seemed to me you were terribly unjust   
and cruel4    ,but to my history3       
,when you left me on the train1 ,i cared
 next to nothing as to what  became of  
me4  ,i don't believe ,i should have    
lifted a finger to save my  life had the
 train been wrecked4  ,i would not      
deliberately take my own  life1 but if  
it could have been taken from me ,i     
should have given it up  without a      
regret4  ,i cared not for man1 and as   
for ,god1 ,i neither  feared such a     
being nor believed in his existence4    
,but your words stung me like burning   
lances4  ,they were true1 every one  of 
them1 and the ,other ,fellow--indeed1 ,i
 have not forgotten him1 nor  has he    

forgotten me1 and for this ,i have to   
thank you1 also1--took them  up and kept
 saying them over to me1 as ,i rolled   
along to my  destination1 which as yet  
,i did not know4  ,i tried to be rid of 
them1  but it was useless4  ,the truth  
had been told me for once in my life1   
and ,i saw myself as ,i really was4  ,it
 was not an inviting sight1 but it  is  
one ,i should have been forced to see1  
long before4    ,i reached the end of my
 journey1 a place which1 as you would   
not know  its name then1 it is perhaps  
well that you should never know4  ,i had
 no  money1 and ,i was hungry4          
,ordinarily1 ,i should have struck some 
one for  a loan1 but your words rang in 
my ears1 and ,i would not do it4  ,i    
applied for a job of work that ,i knew  
,i could do4  ,i got it1 and did it  as 
well as ,i knew how to4  ,i hide my face
 even now1 for very shame1 as  ,i       
confess that it was the first time1 for 
years1 that ,i had done as  well as ,i  
knew how to do4  ,i got my pay1 and ate 

an honestly earned1  though frugal      
supper1 that evening4  ,i think you will
 understand me  when ,i tell you that ,i
 went to bed happier that night than ,i 
had before  for a long time4  ,the      
,other ,fellow said1 ,it is all right1  
,old ,boy6  ,stand by6  ,i did stand by1
 and ,i have been standing by ever      
since4    ,and first1 as ,i learn you   
are still teaching1 ,i want to ask you  
never  to give up your boys1 nor your   
way of managing them4  ,you can never   
know how much you did for me in the     
,emburg school4  ,those old days come   
back to me almost every hour1 and their 
essence is a part of my being4  ,i know 
that you must have thought1 ten thousand
 times1 that all your  work was lost1   
and counted for nothing4  ,you had every
 reason in the  world for thinking so1  
and doubtless did think so4  ,but ,i    
want to beg  of you now1 in the name of 
the new life that has eventually come to
 me  through the medium of those old    
school days1 not to be discouraged4  ,i 

tell you1 my dear teacher1 that not one 
of such words and deeds will  fail1 at  
last1 of reaching the purpose for which 
it was primarily  intended4  ,so please 
be patient with the boys1 and keep on as
 you were1  years ago1 and do not be    
discouraged because it is long till the 
harvest4  ,it will ripen in due time4   
,the reapers shall come also1  bearing  
their sheaves1 and it is at your feet   
that they will lay them  down4    ,but  
,i wish especially to thank you for your
 wisdom and faithfulness in  our last   
interview4  ,on that occasion you struck
 the key note to the  whole situation   
when you virtually kicked me out of your
 house1 and  told me that if ,i ever got
 up ,i must climb for myself4  ,that was
 a new  doctrine for me then1 but ,i    
understand it thoroughly now4  ,it is   
sound  doctrine too1 though it takes    
long to see it so4    ,you were wise1   
too1 to watch me till ,i got out of town
 on that  ,september afternoon4  ,if you
 had given me ten dollars at your home  

and  told me to buy a ticket1 ,i doubt  
if ,i should have done it1 even if ,i   
had promised to1 and meant to do so when
 ,i promised4  ,the chances are ,i      
should have spent the money for drink1  
and then have gone to jail4  ,that is   
the way of a man such as ,i was then4   
,an habitual drunkard is  not to be     
trusted1 not even by himself4    ,i     
shudder as ,i write these things1 and ,i
 only reveal them to you1  hoping that  
they may1 perchance1 be the means of    
your helping some one  else4  ,i never  
refer to these scenes to others2 in     
fact1 no one here  knows of these       
painful pages in my history4    ,you    
will care to know what ,i am doing4  ,i 
have a studio here on  ,broadway1 and am
 painting portraits4  ,the old gift1    
that you were the  first to discover in 
me1 when you said a kind word for my    
burlesque  sketch of you on the board1  
at ,emburg 7how often ,i do get back to 
that  old school-room71 at last proved  
my salvation4  ,gradually ,i found that 

,i had talent in this direction1 and ,i 
am making the most of it4  ,carefully   
and honestly ,i took up the work1 and   
with perseverance ,i have  attained my  
present success4  ,i have studied with  
the best artists  here1 and my work is  
well received4  ,at the latest          
exhibition at the  ,academy ,i was the  
winner of the first prize1 and this fact
 has already  brought me more business  
than ,i can well attend to4  ,i am      
delighted  with my work1 but shall never
 rest satisfied till a picture of       
yourself  hangs in my room where it can 
watch me as ,i pursue my daily task4    
,because1 it is you who inspired me even
 to try to be a man and to do  something
 in the world4  ,the credit is yours4   
,my father and mother are still in      
,illinois4  ,i have communicated with   
them several times recently4  ,the      
children are grown1 and several of  them
 have left home4  ,i hope to see the    
family all together on the day  you     
receive this letter4  ,i may also see   

you before ,i return to ,new  ,york4    
,i cannot close this letter without     
telling you further of the change  that 
has come to me in my religious and      
spiritual life4  ,you know how          
blasphemously unbelieving ,i was ten    
years ago4  ,i thought then that ,i  had
 full cause for being so1 but ,i was    
wrong there1 as in all else4  ,i        
wandered far and long1 but as ,i began  
to do what ,i believe was ,god's  will1 
,i began to know the doctrine1 as the   
book says we shall4  ,i am  happy now in
 a religious life which ,i once believed
 it impossible for  any one to          
experience4  ,these are the main        
features in my life4    ,so now ,i wish 
you adieu1 and pray the good ,father in 
heaven to bless  you all the days of    
your life4  ,your calling is the most   
noble in all  the world1 and ,i do you  
but justice when ,i say that you are    
wholly  worthy of your profession4      
,remember me to your family1 which ,i   
trust ,i  may now have your permission  

to mingle with again 7ah6 that day72 and
  believe me1 ever sincerely yours1     
,dodd4      ,mr4 ,bright read the letter
 through to the end1 then fell on his   
knees  and in silence rejoiced and gave 
thanks4    ,you may talk about rewards1 
good people1 but will you measure out in
  dollars about the worth of feelings   
that filled the heart of ,mr4  ,charles 
,bright on this occasion8  ,it is only  
in the coin of the  everlasting kingdom 
that such a result can be told4    ,the 
next day the bank passed #bcg4de to the 
credit of the schoolmaster4  ,the check 
was good6    ,there was a joyous dinner 
at ,elder ,weaver's house that same     
,christmas  day1 the family being united
 again1 the prodigal returned1 and      
bringing  with him a wife newly wedded4 
,leave them at dinner4  ,only ,god and  
the members of the household should     
look upon such a scene4    ,dodd and his
 wife also spent a day with ,mr4        
,bright1 on their way to  their home in 
the metropolis4    ,it was a joyous     

occasion1 all hearts overflowing with   
such pleasure as  there is among the    
angels1 over one sinner that repenteth4 
,,chapter ,,xxiv4    ,in a snug home in 
a suburb of ,new ,york ,city dwells     
,dodd ,weaver with  his faithful and    
devoted wife4  ,they have one child1 a  
boy1 named  ,charles ,bright4  ,their   
home is happy and full of the sunlight  
of love4  ,dodd is devoted to his       
profession1 and serves it faithfully4   
,he has  a marked talent in his calling1
 and is succeeding well4  ,he may never 
become famous1 but what is fame8  ,he is
 earning an honest and excellent        
living1 and that is much for one with   
his start in life4    ,he looks over the
 path he has come with thankfulness as  
well as with  horror4  ,he hopes1 too1  
that when his own son shall come to go  
by the  highway of life1 he may be able 
to take him by the hand and lead him    
along the dangerous places that he found
 along the road1 or1 at least1  to point
 out the pitfalls for the child1 and so 

save him from the evil  that so sorely1 
beset himself4    ,but every day1 the   
thing that now looms up through the life
 of this now  busy man is the personal  
character and influence of his old      
teacher1  ,mr4 ,bright4  ,this never    
leaves him nor forsakes him4  ,it is    
like an  anchor to his soul4  ,it saved 
him from total wreck in his voyage of   
life4  ,it held him from ruin when the  
waves and billows swept over him4  ,why 
should he not revere such a source of   
help2 such an everlasting  tower of     
strength8    ,but his memory of the     
machine brings no such consolation or   
help4  ,why  should it8  ,answer1 if you
 can1 you who have faith in the mill    
itself1  or whose business it is to make
 it grind4    ,as ,dodd touches his     
brush to a bit of ruddy color on the    
pallet at  his side and tinges the      
cheeks of a beautiful face that smiles  
from the  easel before him1 ,i draw the 
curtain that shuts him out of your sight
  and mine1 beloved1 and that closes him

 into the sacred radiance of his  own   
happy home4  ,let us leave him there    
within the veil1 within the  veil4      
,,addenda    ,for ,school ,teachers     
,only4    ,as ,i vexed no one with a    
preface at the beginning of this story1 
,i  allow myself the privilege of a few 
reflections at its close4    ,if the    
,evolution of ,dodd has seemed slow1 or 
if it has appeared1  sometimes1 as if   
the life1 whose growth ,i have traced1  
began on a very  low plane and          
progressed almost imperceptibly1 let it 
be remembered  that this is the ordinary
 course of nature4  ,it is the way of   
the  world4  ,from the primordial germ  
to the soul of a man is a long1 long    
distance2 and often and often1 in the   
upward march of life1 the path  seems to
 turn upon itself and go backward4  ,it 
is even so in the life  of every one who
 eventually reaches the goal4  ,the way 
to final victory  is marked by a        
succession of advances1 battles1 and    
retreats4  ,this  also is ordained4     

,the physical body of man1 from the time
 of its inception till the close  of its
 career1 passes through all the varied  
stages of animal life--the  germ1 the   
cell1 and the changes that these are    
subject to in animal  existence--that   
is1 being the highest form of material  
life1 man bears1  in his own body1 marks
 of all previous conditions4  ,even so1 
in his  spiritual body1 each individual 
exemplifies ,the total world since life 
began1 and every soul must span the     
space from the first man1 ,adam1 to  the
 quickened spirit of a son of ,god4     
,people whose business it is to  develop
 human souls should remember that4      
,again3 ,how to help weak and tempted   
humanity so as to build it up1 to  make 
it strong and able to resist temptation1
 is a problem that has  never yet been  
fully solved4  ,whether it is better to 
hold up an awful  example before the    
gaze of the suffering ones1 and to      
relate to them  the certainty of a like 
conclusion to their own career if a like

 course  of life is persisted in2       
whether it is better to point out the   
success  that some tempted and tortured 
men have reached1 by devious ways that  
led through flame and darkness1 and from
 which the victims have escaped  only as
 by fire1 like brands plucked from the  
burning1--which of these  ways is the   
better1 heaven only knows and has never 
revealed4    ,it is well enough1 though1
 to remember that the ,master was       
tempted in  all points1 like as we are1 
and that it is said of the saints in    
glory  that they came to their reward   
through great tribulation4    ,there can
 be no greater tribulation than for one 
to be born with a  nature that is       
intrinsically false1 fickle1 passionate1
 impulsive--in a  word1 such a nature as
 ,dodd naturally possessed--a nature far
 away  from the line of truth and right2
 a nature such as multitudes of boys    
are born with in this wide1 wide world  
of ours4  ,to guide safely into  the    
port of rest souls thus weighted down   

with depravity is a task for  gods and  
men to compass--if they can4  ,the      
chances of wreck are many  fold to one2 
but now and then the harbor is made1    
thank ,god6    ,it has seemed best to me
 to tell the tale of one such voyage of 
life4  ,there is no denying that the    
journey was a perilous one1 such a one  
as  would probably wreck ninety-nine out
 of one hundred crafts attempting  it2  
yet1 for all of that1 there is joy over 
the one that comes through4    ,i am    
aware that ,dodd ,weaver has had more   
chances than any one person  ought ever 
reasonably to expect4  ,but ,providence 
is sometimes bountiful  in              
opportunities1 even to prodigality4     
,dodd doubtless had more  chances than  
he ought to have had1 in the strict line
 of justice2 but  we must all plead     
guilty to the same charge1 in a greater 
or less  degree4  ,it is likely1        
however1 that no more opportunities have
 come to  any of us than were necessary 
to bring us safely to our journey's     

close4  ,there is a divinity that shapes
 our ends4    ,i am glad ,dodd ,weaver  
had as many chances as he had4  ,i am   
glad he  didn't need any more of the    
same sort1 for they might not have been 
forthcoming4  ,there is such a thing as 
being too late4    ,my hope for you1    
beloved1 is that you1 too1 may have     
chances1 and that  you may take them    
while you can4  ,i would that you might 
reach the goal  of success in life by a 
shorter route than ,dodd had to take2   
but if  not1 then may you come by the   
way he trod4  ,the road is not unused1  
you  will not be alone in your travels4 
,one last word regarding the public     
school1 for whose sake all this has     
been set down3    ,in the evolution of  
character1 in these last days1 this     
institution has  come to be a most      
important factor4  ,to it has been      
assigned a task  equal to1 if not       
exceeding that of any other agency that 
has to deal  with human nature4  ,it is 
more important than can be set forth    

that it  do its work well4  ,it is not  
so doing now1 however1 to nearly the    
extent of which it is capable4  ,too    
much it has become a mere machine1  a   
mill for grinding out graduates4  ,as   
such it is unworthy its high  estate4   
,as such it now exists1 in multitudes of
 cases4  ,as such it  should no longer  
be tolerated4  ,from such a condition it
 must be  redeemed4    ,the system has  
largely lost sight of the grandest thing
 in all the  world1 namely1 the         
individual soul4  ,it addresses itself  
to humanity  collectively1 as a herd4   
,in this it makes a fatal mistake1 one  
that  must be corrected1 and that       
speedily4    ,and for you1 teachers1 you
 who have the destinies of these schools
 in  your hands1 keep your eyes and ears
 open1 and your souls alive to the      
possibilities of your profession4  ,let 
no machine nor method crush out  your   
own individuality1 and suffer no power  
to induce1 or to force you  to make a   
business of turning a crank that runs a 

mill whose office it  is to grind       
humanity to one common form1 each       
individual like every  other1           
interchangeable like the parts of a     
government musket6    ,understand1      
first1 last1 and all the time1 that     
characters cannot be  manufactured like 
pins1 by the million1 and all alike2    
neither can  salvation be handled in job
 lots4  ,it is also true that           
wholesaling  education can never be made
 a success4    ,because1 personal       
character is all there is in this world 
that amounts  to anything in the final  
resolution of things4  ,it is not money1
 nor  governments1 nor machines1 that   
are of value in the last analysis4  ,it 
is character6  ,it is individuality6    
,it is men6    ,to secure these things  
this old world turns over once in       
twenty-four  hours1 and swings around   
the sun in yearly revolution4  ,for     
these1  tides ebb and flow1 the land    
brings forth1 and the clouds float in   
the  sky4  ,to these all forces are but 

servants4  ,for these ,christ died4     
,and like begets like1 in the public    
schools as elsewhere4  ,it is  character
 in the teacher that begets character in
 the pupil4  ,the  machine makes after  
its own kind also1 and both it and its  
products can  be measured with a line4  
,the soul cannot be measured with a     
line4    ,so the ultimatum is           
personality1 individuality1 and         
character1 in every  teacher and pupil  
in the public schools1 and freedom of   
each to develop  in his own way1 and not
 after a pattern made and prepared by a 
pattern  maker4    ,if the public school
 live long1 its friends must take these 
items into  account and act on them4    
,it is its only salvation4        ,,the 
,,end4